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Kuldahar Valley | Kuldahar | Chult | Dragon's Eye - Level 1 | Dragon's Eye - Level 2 | Dragon's Eye - Level 3 | Dragon's Eye - Level 4 | Fields of Slaughter |
DRAGON'S EYE, LEVEL 4
Time Loop Day 5
The reason for the ‘Day 5’ will soon become apparent. In the meantime, in both the northwest nd northeast corners of this area, there’ll be some lingering magical effects owing to a recently fought war. They will wear off after a little while.
I continue east, then south and then west. I'll find a broken bridge. Akutagawa places the 4 pieces of Hemp Rope that he's found. I can now cross the bridge without falling down and taking damage.
I continue west and run into a Pureblood Cleric named Inquisitor Venomin. He is deeply in regret over his murder of Lord Pyros, which started a full blown war between the Yuan-ti and the inhabitants of the Chamber of Magma. He then casts himself into the molten lake.
I continue north and west, and then take the sloping trail eastwards. I find the ferryman of the molten lake, Archon. He’ll transport my party to wherever it needs to go in exchange for an item out of your inventory, or for 300gp. Tithian can Bluff him a few times into offering the ride for free.
5) Archon brings us to Lord Pyros’ Domain. A monster summoned by Summon Monster IX, like a Remorhaz or a Greater Werewolf, will attack the party. Nearby will be Ambassador Jasper. I ask as many questions as I can to find out what’s going on, and keep a mental note of how things stand at this moment; Venomin killed Pyros, High Sorceress Izbelah was killed during an escape attempt from her cage, a war between the Yuan-ti and the inhabitants of the Chamber of Magma has left both sides decimated.
I now have Archon bring me to Jasper’s Embassy. In a chest I’ll find:
I now ask Archon to bring you to the Fields of Slaughter exit. Problem i, there’s a Beholder named Zil-t’yor waiting for me, along with a lot of Hell Hounds, Lava Mephits, Trolls, and some Flamewalkers.
He won’t let me take the exit, so a fight is inevitable. One problem here is that the party is going to get hit with Dispel Magic right away, so I don't bother with any buffs. Finger of Death won't work on the Beholder anymore. For its part it packs all the usual attacks associated with Beholders, including instant death, petrification, and dispel magic. So the key is to try and get everyone south as far as possible. The strategy is to get rid of all of the Beholder's minions, but beyond its sight. Once all the Trolls, Efreeti, Mephits, etc. are gone, I save my game. Keep in mind that the Beholder can only be attacked by missile weapons or by weapons with an extended reach, like a Greatsword or a Spear. The best character for now taking out the Beholder is someone who can pack a punch with an extended range weapon, but also has high Fortitude saving throws in case of a death or petrification ray. Lord Markus and Akutagawa make obvious choices, although a Barbarian may do as well with some luck.
I then take the exit to the Fields of Slaughter ...
Time Loop Day 4
Only, I’m not in the Fields of Slaughter. I'm back in the Chamber of Magma. By the way, you can go back up to Level 3 and rest up all you like. You'll still be in Day 4 of the Time Loop.
I again go the long way around to where I first found Archon. There’s a landslide trap if you go left. Archon, at the start of this new day, can be bluffed again into free passage the first go round.
I then go to the Guard Post and talk to King Lothar and learn that he objects to being subordinate to Lord Pyros. Lord Pyros still alive?
The Embassy is next. I question Ambassador Jasper. Apparently some events haven’t occurred yet, such as Pyros’ death, and the fire dweller vs. yuan-ti war. Other events are described as having happened more recently than what I heard when I was first in this Chamber of Magma. Yes, I’m in the middle of a Time Loop which was created by Izbelah’s attempt to magically halt the eruption, her approach being to lock the Chamber of Magma in a state of temporal stasis.
I then go to Lord Pyros’ domain to witness Venomin’s poisoning to death of Lord Pyros.
I then go back to the Embassy. Venomin seeks sanctuary in the embassy. He then contacts High Priest Thorasskus, who promptly chews out the Inquisitor for his rash actions. In the meantime I’ll also witness King Lothar setting the war against the Yuan-ti in motion, including sending Efreeti assassins after Thorasskus.
Now you I come to ‘the upper levels’. I then make for the southwest corner, where I’ll witness Venomin committing suicide for a second time.
From there on in I sweep the area to clear out any Yuan-ti and also the fire-based creatures. It won't have any effect on the game itself, and the fire-based creatures won't remember when I get to Day 3. It's a good way to rack up xp.
I conclude by taking the ferry to the Fields of Slaughter exit.
Time Loop Day 3
Now I make my way back to Archon and then go to the Amphitheatre. One of the Flamewalkers tells me that trials and plays are a regular occurrence in the place.
After the Amphitheatre I visit Lord Pyros and ask him whatever I want. When the conversation closes he'll then recommend seeing a play in that same amphitheatre.
Lord Markus goes straight north from Lord Pyros. Venomin then comes straight south to have a word with Pyros. Apparently, the two of them are agreeable to Izbelah’s release. I then follow Venomin north to Izbelah’s cage and have a word with him.
I now have the Archon take me to King Lother's Citadel. Lord Pyros arrives and commands King Lothar to release Izbelah on the next day. He also invites the King to a play. The King declines, saying he has work to do. There's no mystery what he means by work.
Now it's time to go back to the Amphitheatre. I now have available as a dialogue option the choice of seeing the Flamewalkers putting on a play. It is evidently a bad enough play to put the party to sleep. Upon waking the party will witness King Lothar murdering High Sorceress Izbelah. Venomin runs past the scene after Lothar has departed.
I make my way back to King Lothar’s Citadel. You’ll witness the King lying to Venomin and passing the buck on to Lord Pyros, both to set up Pyros for a coup-de-tat and to have a free hand to start a war against the Yuan-ti. Once Venomin leaves King Lothar notices me eavesdropping and a battle ensues.
Since my opponents depend almost solely on melee attacks a Chaos-Slow-Power Word: Blind combination ends the fight before it has even started. Once I’ve defeated King Lothar, I do another sweep of the area to kill off any fire-based creatures for the xp. This will, by the way, also include Lord Pyros himself, who yields quite a lot of xp for a single monster.
I conclude by going to the Fields of Slaughter Exit.
Time Loop Day 2
Yes, I make my way to Archon. Now things are relatively simple. I only need to ask him to take me to the Lava Mephit lair southwest of the Amphitheatre.
I then witness the trial of High Sorceress Izbelah. I then kill off the little Lava Mephits. Nearby is a trapped and locked chest which contains (after Light of Selune that is):
Now I go on another sweep of the area to kill off the fire-based creatures for xp, including a double-dip for Lord Pyros. It's all for free, so why not?
Now I have Archon take me to the Fields of Slaughter exit.
Time Loop Day 1
Izbelah immediately prepares for the casting of her Temporal Stasis spell. The key is to kill her before she gets it off. First and foremost, I have Lady Elanna cast Mass Haste on the party, and then have the party run to the west and then south as soon as possible.
Yes, even through the landslide trap. I only need one character to make it through and hustle over to Archon. Once one party member talks to Archon and buys passage to the Embassy, the whole party gets taken over.
The point behind all of this is to get to Izbelah as quick as I can before she’s had a chance to bolster herself with defensive spells. I hack her to death to prevent her from creating the Time Loop.
Now the volcano is about to blow. I could try and warn Nheero up above, but this is far more trouble then its worth and very hard to pull off.
I simply tell Archon that you need to go the Fields of Slaughter exit.
Nickademus' Favor
Except when I leave, Nickademus will call in his favor and bring me back to the Ice Temple, because he wants my help in trapping fiends inside the Temple.
I wouldn't recommend buffing up for this part for two reasons. One is chances are good more fiends will arrive to interrupt, forcing you to fight anyway. Another reason is that some of the fiends love to cast Chaos or Confusion (e.g. Gelugon, Glabrezu). So to minimize the hassle, it helps to be able to cast Dispel Magic on yourselves whenever its needed (although I found it unnecessary in this video).
Now the exit will lead to the Fields of Slaughter.
