Find the Missing Shipment

Rugan and his crew have suffered heavy losses while transporting cargo.

Find the Missing Shipment is a Quest in Chapter One of Baldur's Gate 3. It can be started by approaching the trapped Rugan and Olly at the Risen Road, finding the Zhentarim Basement and speaking with Zarys there, or reading a note found on the corpse of one of her missing agents.

Objectives

Objectives and journal entries may vary pending story decisions and outcomes.

Find the missing wagon.

• Zarys, leader of the local Zhentarim, said her agents went missing while transporting a shipment. She'll pay a hefty sum if we return it unopened.

Search for survivors of the caravan.

• We found the remains of a caravan. A note on a corpse mentioned a valuable chest and someone called 'NF'. Perhaps someone survived this attack.
• We discovered the wrecked wagon and a note on one of the dead. This must be one of Zarys' missing agents, but where are the others? And the shipment?
• We discovered a wrecked wagon. A corpse told us that someone called Rugan escaped with a chest and headed north. We should search for him.

Help the trapped survivors.

• We found Zarys' missing agents trapped in a cave surrounded by gnolls. If we want to save them, we'll have to take out the gnolls first.
• We discovered two people trapped in a cave, surrounded by a horde of ravenous gnolls. They'll likely die without help.

Check on the survivors.

• Using our parasite, we forced the gnoll leader to attack the men in the cave. It's sure to be a bloodbath.

Speak with Rugan/Olly.

• The gnolls have been defeated. We should let Rugan/Olly know.

Defeat the survivors.

• Things turned sour with the survivors in the cave. We'll make quick work of them.

Take the shipment.

• Zarys' agents lie dead. We need to bring their shipment back to Zarys.
• The two men died. Their cargo is still in the cave, however. It looks valuable.
• One of Zarys' agents is dead. Olly wants nothing to do with the chest they carried. Zarys will want it back.
• The shipment is ours. We should grab it while we can - and decide what to do with it.

Meet with Rugan's associates.

• Rugan thanked us and invited us to meet his associates. To enter their hideout, we need to use the password 'little serpent, long shadow'.
• We learned that, to enter the Zhentarim hideout, we need to use the password 'little serpent, long shadow'.
• We spoke to Rugan's body and learned of a Zhentarim hideout nearby, beneath a tavern. We should go there.

Return to Zarys.

• Zarys' agents died. However, we have the shipment. She'll be pleased.
• Rugan thanked us for saving him and the other agent. We should return to Zarys for payment.
• One of Zarys' agents lies dead, but we have the shipment. Zarys will be pleased.

Speak with the Zhentarim leader.

• We were able to successfully enter the hideout. Time to find who's in charge.

Decide what to do with the chest.

• The two men died, but left behind a valuable chest. We could try to find its owner, or just open it and take what's inside.
• We took a locked and sealed chest from Rugan, one of the men we saved from gnolls. The chest is now ours, but we could try to find its owner.
• The men hiding from the gnolls were carrying a locked, sealed chest. We could try to find its owner, or just open it and take what's inside.

Quest Complete

• Pleased, Zarys rewarded us for defending her agents and bringing back the shipment.
• We made enemies of the Zhentarim before we could complete our mission.
• We left before fully investigating the shipment and its owners.
• Pleased, Zarys rewarded us for bringing back the shipment.
• Zarys attacked us when she learned we had lost the chest. We should have been more careful.
• We broke the seal on the chest. No point in returning it to the owner now - guess it's ours!
• We kept the chest and left the area with it.
• We tried meeting with Rugan's associates but were refused entry.
• We tried to return the chest, but things went wrong. Guess it's ours now.
• Pleased, Zarys rewarded us for defending her agents. We kept quiet about the shipment.
• We joined the Zhentarim. Zarys needs us to bring the shipment to Baldur's Gate.

Walkthrough

Finding the Missing Shipment is started either by encountering Rugan and Olly on The Risen Road or by entering the Zhentarim Hideout in Waukeen's Rest and speaking with Zarys. Either approach leads to the same result - encountering the Gnolls attacking the guards and deciding what to do with the locked chest.

Rugan and Olly

The two Zhentarim guards are trapped in a cave near the Risen Road, surrounded by Gnolls. Rugan and Olly's reaction varies depending on how the party encounters them. If the party enter the cave from the back entrance at X: 50 Y: 576, then Rugan remarks that they are just as trapped as him and Olly and they all need to band together to fight. If the party enter from the front at X: 38 Y: 618, Rugan tells Olly to stand down and leave the heroics to those who don't value their own skin.

If the duo are saved (regardless of how the party enter), they are both grateful for the assistance.

Aside from saving the pair, the party can also let them die. This can occur by Long Resting instead of confronting the gnolls, by sneaking past Rugan and Olly through the back entrance (stealing their belongings and then returning to the main cave mouth), or by commanding the gnoll Warlord Flind to kill the humans inside the cave. The option to commune with Flind's tadpole occurs within the first few rounds of combat. Flind can also be commanded to feast on herself, her pack, or to retreat.

• Search her mind for the source of the Voice.
• [ILLITHID] [WISDOM] Use the power within you to make her obey the Voice; to brave the flames and feast on the meat in the cave. (DC 2)
• [BARD] [PERFORMANCE] Conjure the mewlings of easy prey into her mind, centring it within the nearby cave. (DC 12)
• Withdraw from her mind, and prepare to strike.
• Divert her attention to the cave - perhaps there's more meat inside?

If the first option is chosen, an additional command is unlocked:

• [ILLITHID] [WISDOM] You are of the same pack - command her to devour the other gnolls. (DC 2)

Locating the shipment

Once the Gnolls are dealt with, it is revealed what the sacrifice was for - a shipment of items to be brought to Baldur's Gate for a rich and powerful individual.

• You're Zhentarim. Your people deal in more than just 'baubles.'
• [PALADIN] You're Zhent - I'd wager more than just your crew have died over these 'baubles'.
• Many people lost their lives for those baubles.
• [INTIMIDATION] Whatever your cargo is, I'll consider it as payment. (DC 15)
• [BARBARIAN] [INTIMIDATION] The cargo. Give it to me. Or else. (DC 15)
• [BARD] [DECEPTION] Darkhold was getting concerned. I've been sent to retrieve the shipment. (DC 15 )

If pressuring Rugan for the chest, he still hesitates to relinquish it. He says his bosses will do worse to him than any of the Gnolls could have. He requires another speech check to give up the goods:

• [BERSERKER] [BARBARIAN] [INTIMIDATION] ROAR. (DC 15 )
• [BARBARIAN] [INTIMIDATION] Enough talking. I'll have that cargo, or I'll have your head. (DC 15 )
• [INTIMIDATION] No, this is where I stop asking and start cutting. (DC 15)
• [PERSUASION] This is your employer's mess - but we can profit. Let's sell the cargo ourselves. (DC 15)
• [ROGUE] [PERSUASION] You're missing a golden opportunity. Report the cargo lost - and we can sell it ourselves. (DC 15 )
• [PALADIN] [INTIMIDATION] You serve your oath to the Zhent impressively, but I'm afraid I'll be taking that cargo. Now. (DC 15)
• [BARD] [PERSUASION] You'll find I'm very persuasive. We can make much more coin than you would with your employers. (DC 12)

After this successful check, Rugan relinquishes the chest to the party. It is possible to intimidate Rugan further into relinquishing some gold in exchange for saving his life:

• [INTIMIDATION] Fair. But I expect to be paid for saving your life. (DC 5)
• [INTIMIDATION] You can leave - but your cargo stays. (DC 10)
• [BERSERKER] [BARBARIAN] [INTIMIDATION] PAY UP. (DC 5 )
• [BARBARIAN] [INTIMIDATION] Coin first. Then I go. (DC 5 )
• [BARBARIAN] [INTIMIDATION] CARGO'S MINE NOW. GET OUT. (DC 10 )
• [BARBARIAN] [INTIMIDATION] Cargo's mine now. Goodbye. (DC 10 )

Doing so will also grant the inspiration  Hero for Hire for party members with the Urchin background.

If Rugan is not persuaded, the party can also steal the chest or lockpick it open ( DC 20 Sleight of Hand check. If the Iron Flask inside is taken, the chest is considered stolen. If the chest was unlocked, even without taking anything out of it, Zarys considers this a violation of the agreement and orders her henchmen to attack.

If Rugan dies, Olly simply hands over the shipment, saying it's bad luck. He runs off afterwards.

The Zhentarim hideout

The entry to the hideout is marked on the map if it was learned from Rugan; either through normal dialogue after saving him, or by using  Speak with Dead on his corpse. Regardless, it is easily found with a thorough investigation of the surroundings of Waukeen's Rest: The entry is in the basement of a barn, to the west of the main building of the inn.

When the shabby door of the barn, which has some crates in front of it, is first approached, a passive DC 15 Perception check is triggered. Upon success, the party notice someone moving around inside. The person in question is Salazon, crouched behind some shelves and waiting to ambush the party. Regardless of whether he was noticed, entering the barn automatically initiates dialogue.

If Salazon was already noticed with the passive perception check, and the party had learned the passphrase from Rugan, it can be recited immediately without further checks. If Salazon was noticed, but the party do not know the passphrase, then a DC 10 Dexterity check must be passed to convince him to wait and listen.

If Salazon is not noticed, but the passphrase is known, then a DC 10 Dexterity check must be passed to recite it in time. If he is not noticed, and the passphrase is not known, then a DC 15 Persuasion check check must be passed to convince him to wait and hear the party out.

When not using the passphrase, but convincing Salazon to wait and listen, the following dialogue options are possible to make him stand down:

• Read his mind.
• [BERSERKER] [INTIMIDATION] Do NOT make me angry! (DC 15 )
• [BARBARIAN] [INTIMIDATION] Careful. You won't kill me, but you will make me mad. (DC 15)
• [PERSUASION] Just calm down - I'm not here to fight. (DC 15)
• [ROGUE] [PERSUASION] This is all pretty crude, as traps go - you'll probably kill us both. (DC 15 )
• [SORCERER] [PERSUASION] I am magic. Cast that spell - you'll only hurt yourself. (DC 15 )
• [DRACONIC SORCERER] [PERSUASION] Fire is in my blood. Do it. Let's see who survives. (DC 15)
• [WILD MAGIC] [PERSUASION] Every spell I cast could be my last. You think I fear death? (DC 15)
• [WIZARD] [PERSUASION] That spell, in close quarters? You're going to hurt yourself. (DC 15 )

With or without passphrase, convincing Salazon to stand down results in him handing over a key, and telling that the entry is hidden behind a wardrobe in the basement. He remains upstairs, unaware of any fights that the party may start inside the hideout. Another copy of the key is found within a crate in the same room as the wardrobe itself.

If any check during the dialogue with Salazon fails, he blows up a large number of Firewine Barrels near the entry, dealing 6d6 fire damage in an area, and setting the ground on fire. The explosion's damage can be halved with a dexterity saving throw, whose DC depends on Salazon's stats, as he is considered the attacker. (DC 8 + intelligence bonus + proficiency bonus; total DC 12 in balanced difficulty.) He then disappears immediately, later appearing inside the hideout near Zarys, meaning that there is one more opponent if starting a fight. In this case, going down into the barn's basement triggers a DC 15 Investigation check, though this has no significance: Failing it lets the player character wonder where Salazon went, and succeeding it lets them notice a breeze, wondering where it comes from. The wardrobe hiding the hideout's entry is visible either way. It can be unlocked with a key found in a crate nearby, lock picked, or destroyed to reveal the entry.

Even if Salazon had attacked the party with the explosion, the Zhents are not immediately hostile when the hideout is entered. The same dialogue options are available regardless of how the encounter with Salazon went. Befriending the Zhents and then talking to him in the hideout, after he had tried to blow up the party, lets him apologize.

Returning the shipment

If Rugan and Olly are spared, and the chest is not stolen from them, they return the chest to the basement. If they are not in the basement when the party goes back, taking a long rest unblocks the progression. Zarys thanks the party for their aid and considers them a friend of the Zhentarim. Their merchant Brem opens up special stock and Zarys rewards the party with gold and a crossbow, Harold. If Rugan and Olly did not survive, then this outcome can still be obtained by returning the chest to the Zhentarim without opening it. This is the case even if the party convinced Rugan to give up the chest and killed him and Olly afterward.

If Rugan is intimidated into giving up the chest or persuaded to split the profits with the party, then Olly is killed and Rugan is captured by the Zhentarim. The party has a chance to join the Zhentarim by killing Rugan as a gesture, and they are then tasked with delivering the shipment to Baldur's Gate. Brem opens his special stock, but Harold is not given to the party. It is also possible to kill the other Zhentarim to rescue Rugan, which results in losing out on the special stock and the crossbow.

If the chest was lockpicked and the Iron Flask is returned to Zarys, the Zhentarim become hostile. If not informing her that the party stole the shipment, Brem still opens his special stock but Zarys does not give Harold as a reward.

Becoming a friend of the Zhentarim also grants the inspiration  Friend of the Family to party members with the Criminal background.

The Guildhall

In Act Three, the unopened chest can be delivered to Zhentarim agents in the Guildhall in the Lower City Sewers. The party must turn the shipment over to Slick Inatra to receive a reward consisting of a larger sum of Gold and her thanks.

Quest rewards

• Special Stock of Brem, if Zarys is befriended in any way, even if one had initially intended to steal the shipment, with or without Rugan's cooperation.
• Harold if the chest is returned to Zarys unopened. Not possible if it was taken from Rugan without killing him, by force or by making a deal with him.
• Iron Flask if the chest is opened.

Notable loot

• Mind Flayer Parasite Specimen, on Flind's body
• Reason's Grasp, in a locked chest in the cave, behind Rugan and Olly, after climbing a ladder
• Shattered Flail, on Flind's body
• Speedy Reply, on a dead caravan agent killed by the gnolls

Notes

• If a Long Rest is taken after discovering the area near Rugan's cave, the Zhentarim guards are killed by the gnolls.