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== Involvement == | == Involvement == | ||
=== Act One === | === Act One === | ||
Baelen can be found trapped in the middle of the [[Underdark#Bibberbang Grotto|Bibberbang Grotto]] to the northwest of the [[Myconid Colony]]. He has been separated from his | Baelen can be found trapped in the middle of the [[Underdark#Bibberbang Grotto|Bibberbang Grotto]] to the northwest of the [[Myconid Colony]]. He has been separated from his {{SmRarityItem|Baelen's Pack}} and needs the party's help retrieving the {{SmRarityItem|Scroll of Misty Step}} to safely escape the explosive [[Bibberbang]] field. While Baelen's natural resistance to poison would normally help him with the noxious fumes of the [[Bibberbang]], his dropped torch will set their spores alight if triggered, and cause a chain of explosions across the entire field that would no doubt kill him and any other unprepared adventurers. | ||
The party can try to carefully retrieve his scroll to throw or hand to him, or have him use their own scroll if they happen to have one so that he can teleport out of the field. Alternatively, picking up the torch and providing Baelen with healing is enough to have him survive should the mushrooms be agitated. Once safely out of the field, Baelen will display some confusion and act as if he and the party were in the middle of a conversation he forgot about. After a brief exchange of words, he'll give the party a | The party can try to carefully retrieve his scroll to throw or hand to him, or have him use their own scroll if they happen to have one so that he can teleport out of the field. Alternatively, picking up the torch and providing Baelen with healing is enough to have him survive should the mushrooms be agitated. Once safely out of the field, Baelen will display some confusion and act as if he and the party were in the middle of a conversation he forgot about. After a brief exchange of words, he'll give the party a {{SmRarityItem|Scroll of Invisibility}} as thanks and run back to his wife. | ||
Once they are reunited, Baelen will rest near their tent. When asked how he got into his predicament, he will, with difficulty, recall that he was attempting to pick Noblestalk when the ledge he was on gave way and deposited him in the middle of the field. He cannot explain very well why his mind is how it is now and directs any inquirers to Derryth. Derryth herself will be cold when speaking of Baelen, and express more concern about how he has not retrieved Noblestalk than how he almost died. They have been married over eighty years and the first seventy years were not pleasant, as Baelen was a heavy drinker and abusive towards her, drawing attention to her scars. She concludes by saying she'll likely be sending Baelen out again to pick Noblestalk, if not do it herself.<ref>''"My husband. Eighty soggin' years together, and he leaves me in the lurch like this."''</ref><ref>''"Sure I did. Before he could do me any worse damage than he did for the first seventy years of our marriage."''</ref> | Once they are reunited, Baelen will rest near their tent. When asked how he got into his predicament, he will, with difficulty, recall that he was attempting to pick Noblestalk when the ledge he was on gave way and deposited him in the middle of the field. He cannot explain very well why his mind is how it is now and directs any inquirers to Derryth. Derryth herself will be cold when speaking of Baelen, and express more concern about how he has not retrieved Noblestalk than how he almost died. They have been married over eighty years and the first seventy years were not pleasant, as Baelen was a heavy drinker and abusive towards her, drawing attention to her scars. She concludes by saying she'll likely be sending Baelen out again to pick Noblestalk, if not do it herself.<ref>''"My husband. Eighty soggin' years together, and he leaves me in the lurch like this."''</ref><ref>''"Sure I did. Before he could do me any worse damage than he did for the first seventy years of our marriage."''</ref> | ||
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=== Act Three === | === Act Three === | ||
At [[Bonecloak's Apothecary]], if he was not given the Noblestalk, Baelen can be found cheerfully tending to the shop, greeting any customers that approach. Going through | At [[Bonecloak's Apothecary]], if he was not given the Noblestalk, Baelen can be found cheerfully tending to the shop, greeting any customers that approach. Going through {{SmRarityItem|Derryth's Journal|Derryth's journal}} upstairs in this iteration will reveal that, at some point in the past, Derryth was especially sick of Baelen's drinking and abuse after their return from one Underdark expedition and vowed in writing "if he hits me again, he's going to find some {{SmRarityItem|Wyvern Toxin}} in his porridge the next morning", an outburst she herself is surprised at later on, amending that she should hide her journal lest people get the wrong idea. | ||
If Baelen was given the Noblestalk previously, he will instead be found alone at his shop, having taken over the inventory that Derryth was previously selling. It appears Derryth had run off one night, fearing his wrath for using him. However, seeing as how there are Absolutists in the city and [[Investigate the Murders|a murderer]] terrorizing the citizenry, there isn't much for him to complain about as he has not had any unfortunate run-ins with them so far. He even goes as far to joke that, with any luck, the trouble will end up finding Derryth instead. Should the party condemn him, he'll state that it's what he does to make ends meet, assuming that the party has likewise not been able to get to Baldur's Gate without getting their hands dirty. In this iteration, Derryth's journal will instead talk about how she regrets how the years she's spent suffering under her husband had hardened her heart and made her as cold as Baelen was. And while she has been able to put up with him in the past, the simple return of Baelen's old self has killed her spirit more than any of his past abuse ever did, so she has resolved to leave him. | If Baelen was given the Noblestalk previously, he will instead be found alone at his shop, having taken over the inventory that Derryth was previously selling. It appears Derryth had run off one night, fearing his wrath for using him. However, seeing as how there are Absolutists in the city and [[Investigate the Murders|a murderer]] terrorizing the citizenry, there isn't much for him to complain about as he has not had any unfortunate run-ins with them so far. He even goes as far to joke that, with any luck, the trouble will end up finding Derryth instead. Should the party condemn him, he'll state that it's what he does to make ends meet, assuming that the party has likewise not been able to get to Baldur's Gate without getting their hands dirty. In this iteration, Derryth's journal will instead talk about how she regrets how the years she's spent suffering under her husband had hardened her heart and made her as cold as Baelen was. And while she has been able to put up with him in the past, the simple return of Baelen's old self has killed her spirit more than any of his past abuse ever did, so she has resolved to leave him. | ||
Should Baelen not survive his Underdark expedition, Derryth will be found alone at Bonecloak's. While she's outwardly as abrasive as ever, she will turn melancholy when thinking of her late husband, stating that they both deserved better than how their lives turned out. She'll reckon that Baelen's soul found its way to | Should Baelen not survive his Underdark expedition, Derryth will be found alone at Bonecloak's. While she's outwardly as abrasive as ever, she will turn melancholy when thinking of her late husband, stating that they both deserved better than how their lives turned out. She'll reckon that Baelen's soul found its way to {{FRWiki|The City of Judgement}}, wasting away unclaimed as a faithless.<ref>''"We both of us deserved better than life gave us. Now he's off in the City of Judgement, probably wasting away unclaimed, the old heathen. And I'm here. Alone."''</ref> Her journal in this iteration will concur that Derryth dearly misses her husband, and that she has been thinking of using their own merchandise to cope, though she rebuffs herself, stating that doing so was the very reason Baelen lost his own mind. | ||
Finally, if Derryth was killed in the Underdark and Baelen left alone, or if both Baelen and Derryth die in Act One, Bonecloak's Apothecary will be found still closed, with a simple | Finally, if Derryth was killed in the Underdark and Baelen left alone, or if both Baelen and Derryth die in Act One, Bonecloak's Apothecary will be found still closed, with a simple {{SmRarityItem|Pinned-up Note|notice}} left out front, "Gone shroom hunting." | ||
== Related quests == | == Related quests == | ||