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Pentical Bleth's Second Quest
13th Level
I return to Pentical Bleth to inform her of what I found on the Dark Dahlia. I am rewarded with 45,000gp (it would have 35,000gp had I gotten an advance from her previously) and 2,000xp.
Bleth also wants me to investigate the Kajeel that was referred to in the note left behind by Latasha. She suggests that I use my contacts as an initial effort. That would mean either the Church of Lathander or the Ebon Claws depending on my earlier choice.
In the meantime, the party members now advance to their 13th level of experience.
Hunt for a Token
I make my way back to the Morningstar Haven in the Arena District. I speak with Obid Teltas, who in turn summons Beylia. Beylia is reluctant to admit that she has a token that will allow me to access Kajeel's place in the Undergate.
There will be doors on either side of Obid Teltas. Each leads to back rooms. The door to the right leads to Beylia's quarters. A Diplomacy or Intimidate check can be used to convince her to give up the token, but the skill rank needs to be very high. I could pay 250gp to convince her to give it up, but then I would lose -1 influence with both Charissa and Rinara if I did. I instead threatened to tell Obid Teltas about the Token to convince her to give it up. That shifts my alignment by 1 point towards evil, but I can swallow it.
*Evil* Hunt for a Token
Selene's contact will of course be Altama. Altama advises Selene that a token allowing access to Kajeel's is kept by a Lizardfolk Shaman in the vicinity. Altama hints that the Shaman is mostly interested in feasting on the flesh of the locals, and not so much with any valuables the locals may have left behind, so that it is possible to make off with the token without getting the Shaman's attention.
The house in question is at #17 on the Harbor Loop map. I could charge right in and kill the Shaman, which would be more to the liking of Mantides and Charissa. However, there's a Halfling tourist at the front door named Raphael. It won't take much to talk Raphael into going through the front door to provide the Shaman with a culinary distraction. That loses -1 influence with both Mantides and Charissa.
I have another choice once I step in through the front door. I could go through the door straight ahead and kill the Shaman after he's eaten Raphael. That would earn +1 influence with both Charissa and Mantides.
However, I prefer to go through the door to the right, bypass the electrical trap that can't be disarmed, and take the token from its container at the far end of the room.
Once I leave, I earn +1 influence with Rinara for using guile, but lose -1 influence with both Charissa and Mantides.
King Verovan's Treasure
But before I actually use the Token, there's a little side adventure I'd like to get out of the way first that's now available.
Remember the statue of King Verovan at #6 in the Harbor Loop? It turns out that a band of adventurers have been duped into searching for the king's lost treasure at the statue. They're embarrassed to be caught in the act, so their inclination is to try and kill me. I could talk them out of it with a Diplomacy or Intimidate check, or by going down the conversational tree of just passing by, but I'd rather kill them for their loot. The party consists of a Human warrior named Cedric, a Dwarven warrior named Argan, an Archer named Neek, and a Mage named Melraea.
Salazar keeps Cedric and Argan out of the fight with a Noxious Blast / Eldritch Chain. Rinara holds position in Parry mode. Mantides is swinging away. Charissa opens up with Chain Lightning and then wades in as well. The battle is easily won after that.
Cedric leaves behind an Adamantine Bandmail. Cedric leaves behind a book called King Verovan's Treasure, a Halberd +2 that I'll sell, plus a couple of other random items. Malraea leaves behind some Arrows of the Vampire.
Neek leaves behind an Amulet of Natural Armor +3, which becomes the amulet for Charissa who acts as the main tank in my party. She hands over her Amulet of Natural Armor +2 to Rinara, who plays a similar role.
Cult of the Faceless
I begin the next quest by descending into the Undergate. I get a third vision of a woman in purple speaking cryptically to me and then fading away.
At #8 is a Strange Mirror. It could not be used beforehand, but now it can. It leads to a small temple where a couple of women dressed in purple, Kriox and Odamon, take some length to explain that they want me to retrieve a cloak from a man named Malavhan.
At #13 is the portal to Kajeel's Establishment. All I need to do is give the Token I obtained earlier from Beylia to the Dao Genie, and the portal will now always be open for me.
Once I'm inside, Vander Malavhan will be at the left side of the bar. A prolonged conversation with him leads to a request for his cloak, and both of us sharing a flagon of Elder's Brew. It doesn't matter whether I make or fail the Fortitude check. If I fail, I still have enough time to rest up to shake off the Daze effect, grab Vander Malavhan's Cloak, and leave Kajeel's establishment.
I bring the cloak back to Odamon and Kriox, and get rewarded with 1,000xp. They are then willing to provide information on the fabled Faceless to me.
I leave the Temple, but then Vander Malavhan stops by and informs me that he didn't have the chance to warn me about Kriox and Odamon, and that perhaps I should check out the Temple again. He promptly leaves afterwards.
I return to the Temple. Odamon is gone, but Kriox has taken on Salazar's appearance. There's no real in-game consequence to killing or sparing Kriox.
Tortured Hearts
Now I return to Kajeel's establishment. At the far left corner will be a woman named Gracie. She is unable to be with her beloved Sarl because the Lizardfolk Witch, the same one at #4 on the Undergate map, has put a curse on her. I agree to speak to the Witch on her behalf.
There's multiple ways to resolve the quest:
Mantides wears the cloak for the rest of the game. It will enhance his powers as a Paladin when he becomes one, and will also mesh with the +1 Charisma he took during his 12th level up.
*NOTE* The Lizardfolk Witch will no longer be available as a merchant after this quest is concluded. If there's anything pricey you want to sell, make sure to do it before completing this quest.
The Mysterious Kajeel
As I'm already in Kajeel's establishment as it is now, I could also complete Pentical Bleth's quest here and now. I could simply talk to Kajeel, who's on the right hand side of the bar, and provoke him and his thralls into attacking. Keep in mind that Kajeel will have an attack that inflicts damage and can stun at the same time, so you may want to do what you can to buff up your Will saving throws beforehand (e.g. Magic Circle against Evil). You should attack Kajeel as the most dangerous target first, and force him to flee. You can then kill his Thralls, and loot their bodies for Bracers of Armor +2, a Light Shield +2, an Amulet of Natural Armor +2, and miscellaneous treasures.
You could then also loot Kajeel's trap door key to enter his secret room, the entrance to which is at the far end of the establishment. Kajeel will then beg for his life, and offer up the location to the Safe House and the password needed to enter within, "King Verovan". You would then have a choice of either sparing him or killing him. Killing him wins +1 influence with Mantides but loses -1 influence with Rinrara. Sparing him results in the opposite. *Note* There's no quest-related xp bonus for doing it this way, so I prefer the alternative.
The alternative begins with the Drow Merchant found at #2 on the Undergate map. He's willing to trade an Anti-Psion Stone in exchange for taking out the false Priest of Ilmater that had previously been at #10 on the Undergate map. But since I've taken care of that already, the Anti-Psion Stone is as good as mine. I get 500xp for obtaining it.
I return to Kajeel's establishment and then confront him. It doesn't take him to convince him to cough up the Safe House location and password once he realizes I have the stone. That earns me a 2,000xp quest bonus.
I could let him go at that point, but I decide to go further and use the Anti-Psion stone to free his Thralls. His Thralls now chase him down to his secret room and kill him. I follow after them.
I loot Kajeel's corpse for Kajeel's Key. It opens a foot locker at the far end of his secret room, which holds a bunch of gemstones and some gold. A nearby bookcase has some spell scrolls.
Lair of the Night Masks
I leave Kajeel's and have Charissa reorient her 5th-level spells so that she has four instances of Spell Resistance.
The entrance to the Night Mask Safe House is at #16 on the Undergate map. I buff as much as I can, Death Ward for everyone, Spell Resistance for everyone, Greater Magic Weapon for everyone, Dark One's Luck for Salazar, Magic Vestment for Charissa, Eagle's Splendour for Charissa, Bull's Strength for Charissa. I give the password "King Verovan's Treasure" to pass through the door.
I start off at #1 on the Safe House map. The door at #2 is trapped, but Rinara takes care of it.
There's a trapped chest with miscellaneous treasure inside, as well as another trap just a little east of the chest.
At #4 is the Vampire named Latasha, along with a Duergar Cleric named Brondin, a Githyanki Mage named Zakarus, and a Werewolf named Hanna. Combat is inevitable. Rinara rushes forward and holds position while in Parry mode. Salazar immediately begins blasting away with Vitriolic Acid / Eldritch Chains. Charissa leads off with a Word of Faith spell, which effectively renders Brondin and Zakarus helpless. She then adds in a Chain Lightning for good measure. Mantides brings up the rear and begins hacking away. The battle is soon won after Latasha flees and leaves her minions to fend for themselves.
Hanna leaves behind, in addition to some random treasure, a Leather Armor +1 and an Emerald. I'll just sell the Leather Armor +1. But I have a use for the Emerald.
Brondin leaves behind a couple of random items, plus a Ring of Protection +1 that I'll sell, and The Ravager (Warhammer +2, +1d4 sonic damage, +1d4 piercing damage). I'll sell it too. I already have better weapons in hand.
Zakarus leaves behind a couple of random treasures, plus Zakarus' Staff (Quarterstaff +1, +2 Concentration, Animate Dead (10) / 1 charge, Mirror Image (2) 1 / day), which I'll just sell.
I leave the Safe House. I discover the BTW Talisman, which Latasha left behind. I also get 2,500xp for completing the quest.
*NOTE* It turns out that the BTW Talisman can present the same kind of problem as The Lamentations of the Dead during Mask of the Betrayer. Simply having it in your inventory when you reload a savegame can add on another 2,500xp. I drop it after getting the initial 2,500xp.
The next natural action is to report back to Pentical Bleth, but I prefer to postpone that for certain reasons. I sidetrack with some arena combat action as the Quivering Thumb.
