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THE SLOOP
Two-penny Tam and Clive the Dandy
Next I enter The Sloop, the entrance to which is at #3 on the Mulsantir Map. Once inside, Two-Penny Tam and Clive the Dandy try to hit on Kaelyn but Gann talks them down. Valeria speaks for a bit with the owner, Vladek, simply for some back ground info.
Fyldrin of the Eleven Chairs
Further in The Sloop will be a gang of Rashemi Pirates led by Fyldrin of the Eleven Chairs and his side kick, Colnodrin. I've already got my usual buffs in place, but Valeria adds an Empowered Mirror Images just to be sure.
I then speak to Fyldrin. He is going to attack no matter what, because he recognizes Safiya as a Thayan. I do, however, deliberately select the dialogue response that will increase my influence with Safiya.
Once battle starts, I go right away on the offensive. The Pirates are capable of physically overwhelming party members with their highly damaging attacks, so I want to end things as quickly as possible. Gann unleashes a Storm of Vengeance while Safiya casts an Empowered Chain Lightning. Valeria adds in a Sun Burst spell, while Kaelyn also adds a Word of Faith spell. All of my enemies end up helpless as a result.
Fyldrin leaves behind the Deep Guardian's Plate (Adamantine Half-Plate +5, 12 spell resistance, immunity to paralysis), which I'll just sell.
Axe of the Culling and Crossbow of Murder
I take the opportunity to loot the Shoddy Armoires in the back rooms. Some decent loot shows up, like a Hide Armor +3 or a Padded Armor +2 or some Heal Potions.
There will be a suite nearest on the right that has a trap at the doorway. There will also be another armoire and a chest. The armoire has the Axe of the Culling (Greataxe +3, +1d6 fire damage, Dispel Magic DC=14). The Axe itself presents an interesting opportunity for those of you inclined towards such. You can improve the enhancement bonus to beyond +3, improve the fire damage beyond +1d6, and improve the DC of the Dispel Magic to higher than 14, and then add a fourth enchantment (e.g. another source of elemental damage) afterwards for a truly powerful weapon. The chest will have the Crossbow of Murder (attack bonus +5, +2d6 massive criticals).
There will also be another Shadow Portal in a corner of the room.
Ivin Borsk
On the other side of the portal is another part of the Plane of Shadow that resembles the harbour of Mulsantir. Up ahead will be a cabal of spies of and thieves. I add some extra buffs in addition to my usual ones: Empowered Mirror Image for Valeria, Death Ward and Freedom of Movement and Stone Body for Kaelyn. The reason for the extra buffs on Kaelyn is to decrease her vulnerability to sneak attacks, which is a real danger in the next fight.
I go on ahead and speak with their leader, Ivin Borsk. I get 200 xp for successfully making a Bluff check on him. This battle can be really tough. Borsk is himself a powerful warrior. He'll also be helped out by several Shadowmasters who can sneak up on the party and inflict highly damaging sneak attacks. There will also be a Priest of Mask and a Wizard who can cast high-level spells.
I program my characters to engage in extended sequences of spells. Valeria hits the Cleric of Mask with a Greater Spell Breach, then protects herself with Extended Ethereal Visage and Extended Greater Invisibility, then casts Sun Burst over the enemies. Gann begins an offensive sequence of Storm of Vengeance, Sunburst, and Firestorm. He then casts Regeneration on Kaelyn to decrease her vulnerability. Kaelyn begins offensively with Word of Faith and Storm of Vengeance. She then casts Battle Tide as a buff. Safiya first protects herself with Extended Greater Invisiblity, and then unleashes a Wail of the Banshee.
Once the sequence begins, the Beetle Familiar looks for opportunities to use Tough of Idiocy on either the Cleric of Mask or the Wizard, but it was pretty much unnecessary this go around. The Cleric of Mask dies instantly as a result of Safiya's Wail of the Banshee, and the Wizard got overwhelmed by the damage.
It's a matter of ganging up on Borsk and finishing him off after the extended spell sequences have been executed. Safiya helps things along by targeting Ivin with spells like Empowered Polar Ray and Empowered Disintegrate. It's only a matter of time before everyone else falls.
Ivin Borsk leaves behind the Letter of Ivin Borsk, which is a quest item that I'll use very soon, as well as the Brown Dragon Shield (Tower Shield +5, 75% acid immunity, Disintegrate 1 / day). Gann has his shield for the rest of the game.
A Nest of Spies and Thieves
Now I return to The Sloop, and speak with Shelvedaar Nuum. The Letter of Ivin Borsk reveals that Nuum and his associates were in on the Shadowmasters' plans. There's a number of ways of going about this, all of which will earn a 3,500xp bonus:
My preference is the third option. The reason being that Nuum and his two associates are worth a fair bit of xp, and the sooner Valeria can reach 30th level the better. Also, I get 3 Chaotic points to my alignment for trying to wring them for too much gold before they attack. All three of them are capable of both physical attacks and spellcasting. However, since I start off close to them, I am simply able to wear them down in straight physical combat. Safiya helps things along with damaging spells.
I then inform Sheva Whitefeather of developments. That's when I get my xp reward, plus the Triune Shield (Heavy Shield +7, immunity to disease, 16 spell resistance, +10% arcane spell failure) which Kaelyn equips on an interim basis.
I've pretty much done all I wanted to in Mulsantir for the time being. That means that facing off against the Spirit Army is next.
