Part 14: Tying up loose ends

Update 12: Tying up loose ends


After looking at the map, I noticed that I basically had 3 regions left to explore. I figured I'd quickly get them out of the way now and then we'll get into Cloakwood.

Haha, no I'm not scared of a forest infested with giant spiders, mini-dragons and environmentalist nutcases. Why do you ask?



On the surface of the Firewine Ruins, Molkar the bounty hunter tried to collect the ever-increasing price on our heads.



I gotta say: It was refreshing to kill somebody who wanted us dead for a reason other than simply trespassing.



Melium challenged Minsc and the rest of our party to a swordfight.



His "skills" were not up to the task. As they say: It is the confident swimmer who most often drowns.



It seems we haven't been the only ones who explored the Firewine Ruins. Carsa here has voices telling her to burn things. Viconia seems to approve of this for some strange reason.



Imoen is many things. Annoying, Persistant and a good theif. However she is NOT a good diplomat.



Well we've beaten how many Ogre Mages now? Kahrk cant be TOO hard of a fight.



Magic Missile saves the day. It wasn't long before Kahrk...CARKED it.
Note: I truely apologise for that one



We travelled West to the Coast. A barely-clothed nymph greeted us. Viconia rushed in to speak to it before I could even move. Jealousy perhaps?



What the hell is this? Japan?



HEY. That nymph kissed Viconia and it killed her! (Still: What a way to go)



Shoal it seems is a slave to her master. Right now, we are conversing with a half-naked, bisexual slave. Please note the placement and size of the eyes. This is an AMERICAN RPG and not Japanese.



Once again: Imoen spoke for Shoal before I could. It seems Shoal attracts the ladies instead of the fellas.



And yet another Ogre Mage falls. He put up a tough fight by casting some defensive spells first. It's a tactic which I haven't really employed yet because it seemed like a waste of a cast. I might have to rethink my tactics here a bit.



At least she was greatful? Right? Hey wait, where's she going? DAMNIT IMOEN.



Sigh. A dwarf called out for us so we went to investigate. He didn't seem to...well...be QUITE there. Maybe he should *frumple* with the *happy campers* more often.



We found the ship which he was referring to. It was being guarded by two Carrion Crawlers. These glorified maggots are irritating because they can freeze a party member on-hit. Fortunately: They dont take much before they fall. The only thing that was in the ship was a ring.



We returned the ring to the Mad Arcand and in return he gave us an Oil of Fiery Burning. Think of a Molotov Cocktail.



It wasn't long before a large group of Ogres attacked us. I threw the potion at them, but I threw too far and it missed them all. I retreated to a safe distance while Jaheira, Viconia, Minsc and Khalid took the front line. The group of Ogres took a lot of blows, but eventually they joined every other Ogre which we've met so far on our journey.



With myself and Minsc in need of medical attention, we were relieved to find the Surgeon. The name Davaeorn sounds vaguely familiar but I cant quite make the connection yet.



The Surgeon healed our entire party and then went on his way. Since we were all full health, why stop now?



Despite everything Minsc has seen in his travels with me, the oaf still finds soothsayers hard to believe. That said: Minsc seems to only trust Boo and Dyanheir.



A large group of Sirines and Hobgoblins were hiding in these trees. Sirines are possibly amongst the hardest creatures to fight as their good looks can often charm anybody. If one of them turned their eye onto Minsc, Minsc would turn around and attack us. So I had only one option.

Nuke them from Orbit. It was the only way to be sure. It was fun too!



We found the leader of the Sirine tribe and she attacked us for trespassing. Is there ANYWHERE that we are welcome?



As she fell, a bolt of lightning struck the sea nearby. It was cool, but a voice says that perhaps that was a warning.



We decided to hide out in the cave until the storm passed over.



And in typical fashion, the cave was filled with big nasties. Flesh Golems have a lot of physical resistances and take a fair bit of effort to take one down.



We fought our way to the back of the cave and found a decent stash of unique items. None of it was terribly useful to our already well-equipped group however.



When the sun rose, we headed East. This would be the last place before delving into Cloakwood. Korax the Ghoul offered to fight with us. I dont trust the Ghoul at all, but even if it's only temporary, it cant hurt.



As we explored the area, we found frozen statues of people, their faces twisted in terror. The deeper we got, we eventually found the source. Mutamin had "Pet" Basilisks who could turn people to stone. Minsc was strangely eloquent as he insulted the gnome. I would've laughed if he hadn't just threatened a group of FREAKING BASILISKS.



Mutamin fell without too much effort, his two basilisks however were a tough fight. I cast "Protection of Petrification" on both Minsc and Khalid. Fortunately, Korax was unaffected by their stare.



Korax (unsuprisingly) changed his mind and tried to feast on our "sweet flesh". Y'know, if I was a Ghoul and saw a group of people just take out 2 Basilisks, I wouldn't try to remove their flesh from them.



We had a few "Stone To Flesh" scrolls left, so we used it on this statue which seemed more "alive" than any of the others
Note: The Blue Circle was a hint



She didn't offer a reward, but let's face it: There's not much a woman who's been stoned for a few years has to offer in terms of a reward is there?



To the South we ran into a rival and painfully arrogant adventuring band. They're the sort who give HONEST(ish) adventurers like us a bad name!



The sort of people who seem to be Fireball Magnets for some strange reason.



They were actually a suprisingly skilled group of adventurers. I wonder if any had been to Speilburg? The 5 of them put up a good fight, but their Fireball-Magnet status weakened them too much.

Well, we're done here. Time to go see Cloakwood.