Chapter 2 - The Dead Three and the Tale of Gorion's Ward
After Ryth-Shan killed their original kidnapper, the party did a quick search of the area. They didn't want to hang around for too long in case there were anymore enemies. So they searched the Mind Flayer's body and any other bodies in the immediate area. They found another potion of speed, a potion of invisibility, another 14 gold pieces, and another chest.
When the popped the chest open, they were pleased to find three things. One was a Breastplate. This was a better armor for Ryth-Shan. It provided the same bonus as Scale Mail to AC without the Stealth Disadvantage. It weighed a lot less too, but it was worth a lot more in gold. And so, he immediately put it on and stowed his heavier Scale Mail.
The other two items were two more Magic Pockets. Now they had 6. Kaedyn handed one to Astarion. "We already have some of these. Not sure if it'll do the same thing for you or not. The four we have might be apart of a different set. I..."
Like everyone else, Astarion took the pocket and panicked as his gear vanished. They had to calm him down and assure him that it was all there. They soon discovered that the pocket did, in fact, work with the others. They all shared the same inventory.
"How convenient!" said Astarion, though it was clear that he wasn't necessarily pleased with this. "I must admit, they have their advantages, don't they. However, I'm not entirely sure I like the idea that any of you can go messing around in my things."
"Anything you don't want them to mess with," said Shadowheart, "you can take out right away and put in a different pocket or bag."
More than one of her party members then realized that by saying this she must have done this very same thing. What was she hiding? Would it be an issue for them? Perhaps they should question her about it later in private. She obviously wasn't the most subtle and clever person, or she never would have said such a thing. Now, she had given away that she had some sort of item that she didn't want them to know about.
Shortly after this, they made their way at last out of the nautiloid and out into the open countryside beyond. There had been two ways for them to go, but one was still on fire. Some sort of internal gases from the ship were feeding the flames. They could have put them out or tried to jump over them, but they figured why bother when there was a perfectly unblocked gaping hole just off to their right.
And so, they came out into the open and made their way along a path that ran south once more. Almost immediately, they found the bodies of goblins. "Goblins," said Shadowheart. "I wonder if they have anything useful on them." A brief search turned up a few crude weapons and armor and shields, a few healing potions, and some gold.
"I wonder what this symbol means," said Kaedyn as he examined one of the shields. It was a skull in the middle of an upside down triangle with a bloody left hand smeared on the face. He made a Religion roll of 14+2=16. Success. He added, "It's almost like a blending of three gods; Myrkul, Bhaal and Bane. How peculiar!"
Vexir looked over his shoulder at it, for he was stooping down while examining it. She also made a Religion roll, but only got a 2. "I don't know much about them. Who are they?"
"They are known as the Dead Three, the Dark Gods. They were a collective of three, death-themed deities. Bane was the Lord of Darkness. Bhaal was the Lord of Murder. Myrkul was the Lord of Bones. They began as mortal adventurers and became gods. Jergal was the god of the dead at the time, but he grew tired of it. So, he basically split his power into three and transferred it to them. During the Time of Troubles, over a hundred years ago, Bane and Torm killed one another. Some mortal mage killed Myrkul, and Bhaal was slain by Cyric."
"But long ago, in the year 75 DR, a great seer named Alaundo arrived at the library fortress of Candlekeep. He gave the monks there many prophecies. Among them was a vision that Bhaal would become aware of his imminent death. He would ensure his essence would be preserved by... well... having lots of children with many different women."
"Oh my!" said Astarion scandalously.
Kaedyn ignored him. "His plan nearly succeeded," he said as he stood and stowed the shield in his magic pocket. "He had spawned SO many mortal offspring. One of which was known as Gorion's Ward. Legend tells of how he or she, no one is quite sure of the gender, was raised by Gorion, a known Harper. Gorion's Ward fled from Candlekeep where he/ she was raised. He/ she soon met up with other companions who basically worked together to save Baldur's Gate and the surrounding region from a wicked conspiracy."
"But the story goes on from there. Gorion's Ward became known as the Bhaalspawn because he/ she was one of Bhaal's progenies."
"I've heard of this story before," said Astarion. "The party of the Bhaalspawn was caught up in some sort of Thieves' Guild War in Athkatla, the capital of Amn. I heard some ridiculous rumors about how the rival Thieves' Guild that had sprung up was actually a coven of vampires. Ha! Utter nonsense if you ask me. Either way, the Bhaalspawn's party wiped out the rival Thieves' Guild and so forth."
Kaedyn nodded. "I'm not sure of all the details, but in the end more Bhaalspawn began to spring up everywhere throughout the entire region." After all, in order for him to have known all the details, he would have needed to have rolled more than 20. If he had not rolled more than 15, but more than 10, he would have told even less of the story. "They almost fulfilled Bhaal's plan to bring him back to life. There was something involving Bhaal's throne, but anyway... in the end, Gorion's Ward thwarted everything and was either made into a god or goddess or they became some sort of wandering hero who faded into obscurity. I'm not sure which." Then he paused to consider. "Or did they die? I can't remember."
The others made rolls to see if they knew anything. Everyone either failed or rolled a similar result as Kaedyn. Everyone, that is, except Shadowheart. "I know the story well," she said, having rolled a 19+1=20. "Like you, though, I don't know the gender of Gorion's Ward or anything. Those details were purposely obscured, I think. It is said that Gorion's Ward didn't want people to know too much about him/ her. When all was said and done, he/ she wanted to indeed fade into obscurity. He/ she had enough fame and fortune to last a thousand lifetimes. So, no one really knows what happened afterwards. Like you, no one is even really sure whether they all lived or died during the whole affair."
"All that is known is that Bhaal was not reborn. He was defeated and remained dead. The Thieves' Guild rivals in Athkatla WERE vampires, by the way. Spellhold, a wizard's stronghold in Athkatla, was laid to ruin. AND the only Bhaalspawn to survive was Gorion's Ward. Maybe. At least, that's how the story I heard goes, anyway. Who can really be sure what happened? History is always subject to the information passed on to the one writing it."
She knew more about all this, actually, but she kept the rest of the details to herself. She thought it wise to not speak of what she really knew about Sarevok Anchev, Jon Irenicus and his sister Bodhi, the Throne of Bhaal, and so forth. Knowledge was power, and who knew how she might be able to use those secrets later to her advantage.
"Well," said Vexir after a moment. "Can we be done discussing dead gods? We're still way too close to this Mind Flayer ship, and I'd like to remind everyone that we have these parasites still in our skulls."
"She's right," said Astarion. "We should get a move on. Let's save all future ghost stories for camp later. Okay?" Everyone agreed, and the party continued on up the path for only a short way before yet another surprise literally jumped out at them with a flash of magic and a flare of the dramatic.
