Southeast district, tavern
Euric didn't look too happy when he looked at the good luck charm his mum wanted him to wear. "It looks dumb."
I rubbed my hands together in glee. "You don't want an Amulet of Protection? Well, in that case I'll be happy to take it of your hands. Why, I'm sure I'll find a good vendor, I mean a good home for-"
"I changed my mind. I'll wear it," Euric said, cutting me off suddenly and snatching it out of my hands. He considered a moment. "Tell my mom, that I miss her, but I'm not comin' back. Tell her that I'll be safe."
Later, his mum, Nadine, rewarded us with a NECKLACE OF MISSILES. Woot! She also told us she would consider taking in Petrine. Great success!
As we left Nadine's home, the whole party was giving me weird looks.
"Alright, what is it?"
"You really have a soft spot of doting parents, huh?" Neera said.
"What makes you say that? We don't need another Amulet of Protection. And the Necklace of Missiles is far more valuable."
Neera gave a smug grin. "Normally you would have simply stolen the Necklace of Missiles and kept the Amulet as well."
"Ah."
I tried to come up with a smart retort, but couldn't think of one. "Alright, you all can stop smiling to yourselves. Move it!"
---
Lastly, Halbazzer Drin of the Sorcerous Sundries offered to have a seamstress weave the Lock of Nymph's Hair into a cloak for 100 gold, a great deal which we took. The Nymph Cloak functions exactly like Algernon's Cloak, except that it has 40 charges rather than once per day usage. Which means it can be used multiple time a day. Extremely powerful.
That only left the preparation for the poison quest.
---
We left for the farmlands just outside Baldur's Gate, north of the Friendly Arm Inn.
"Why are we going back here again exactly?" Imoen asked.
Fortunately I had prepared an answer. "Previously we had passed through quickly as we were escorting the survivors from the. Given the sheer number of ankhegs we encountered, I wanted to check if the farmers were alright."
While we traveled, I read the book 'History of the Chosen of Mystra' aloud for the rest.
"So Mystra invested in the Chosen so that her successor would have help to combat the machinations of the Dead Three: Bane, Mykrul and Bhaal. How's that for irony," Jaheira mused.
Neera peered suspiciously at Jaheira. "How is that ironic, exactly?"
Jaheira gulped. "Ah, because those gods are currently dead. But Mystra's Chosen endures still," she said hurriedly.
Smooth save, Jaheira. Soooo smooth.
Neera's eyes narrowed. "I'm not sure that's considered ironic."
"It isn't? Well, my bad," Jaheira replied. "What comes after is more interesting. Mystra had difficulty creating more Chosen after Elminster and Khelben. To create more suitable candidates, Mystra possessed a mortal woman's body, with said woman's permission, in order to create a of slew of mortal progeny with the woman's suitor; this was the origins of the now famous Seven Sisters including Anastra Sylune."
"Huh. What a thing to do. I wonder if there are any other gods who are going around creating mortal progeny?" Imoen asked.
I held back the urge to cough.
The rest looked to Branwen, who said, "Not Tempus, certainly. Bane sired Iyachtu Xvim with a fiend, though perhaps fiends do not count as mortals. Some of the gods of the Old Empires sired aasimars, though when it comes to the birth of aasimars a physical union isn't always necessary."
Dame Aylin from Baldur's Gate 3 is the prime example of an aasimar born from a goddess (Selune) who didn't have a father. I'd call it a virgin birth but that would be decidedly untrue of Selune.
"Did any of these gods raise their children themselves? Take responsibility for their own?" I asked.
The party looked at me in surprise at my question, then to Branwen.
Branwen scratched the back of her head. "Uh, perhaps Mystra could have performed a parenting role while she was possessing a mortal's body? Otherwise, for the others I don't believe that is possible. Gods don't normally manifest in the material plane for long periods as they must return to their domains in the Divine Realms to perform their duties as gods."
"What a convenient excuse," I said. "Good god, evil god, the most powerful beings in all creation are deadbeat parents. How's that for irony?"
The rest of the trip continued in awkward silence.
---
A farmer was indeed troubled, though he didn't know it was due to ankhegs. At least, not yet. Father Brun was a somewhat senior man, who clearly had once seen hard labour back when he was younger but whose body could no longer keep up with the farm work needed.
When we agreed to hear him, Farmer Brun said, "Oh, by the Great Mother, thank you! My son Nathan and his friends went looking for out missing cattle, then they just up and disappeared! Been gone for days now and, with all the bandits around, who knows what's happened. I don't know where they were heading, but I saw some sort o' tracks to the west. Please find Nathan. I can't afford to keep the farm without my son."
The Great Mother was undoubtedly a reference to Chauntea, deity of agriculture and plant cultivation.
We didn't have to walk very far west when we found a very obvious hole in the ground.
The party examined the hole from the outside. It clearly led to a system of tunnels underground. Probably not so far down as leading to the Underdark though. We could literally hear the chittering of ankhegs even from here.
Have I described ankhegs yet? Aknhegs were insectoid creatures which were anywhere between 3 to 6 meters in length and weighted about 350kg. We had fought some on the way to Baldur's Gate while escorting the survivors from Cloakwood, but we hadn't actually entered an ankheg nest. Entering that maw was not a happy thought.
---
The party traveled down the hole until they reached a system of tunnels. We had barely emerged into the tunnels when an ankheg sprang out of the earth, and turned to spit acid at Khalid. At that moment, my staff smashed down on its hardened carapace from behind. With the lone ankheg terribly weakened by my strike, the rest of the party put it down in short order.
Thankfully, one can spot ankhegs hiding in the ground if one knows how. Ankhegs detect tremors above ground by sticking out their antennae through to the surface. A soft-footed thief can sneak around where an ankheg is laying in wait, then ambush it when it emerges to attack the rest of the party.
This was our go to tactic throughout the sojourn underground. Jaheira wasn't too happy that we slaughtered every ankheg in the nest, but an ankheg nest so close to civilization was a recipe for tragedy.
Case in point, we found Farmer Brun's son, Nathan, dead. His body was in an alcove in a cave wall. The alcove was cool enough to preserve the body somehow, so the body didn't smell even though it had been days. It also contained a few goodies for us:
Dagger +1, Dart of Wounding (×5), Dart of Stunning (×5)
Chain Mail +1,
Wand of Fire (12 charges)
Mage scrolls of Dire Charm, Ghost Armor,
Potion of Magic Protection, Potion of Cloud Giant Strength, Cursed Antidote
The ankheg we had defeated just outside the alcove had a ruby ring on it. We kept the bodies of all the ankhegs we had found into the alcove to keep them fresh. The shells were heavy, but there's actually a willing buyer for them in the city.
---
Farmer Brun was absolutely devastated by our finding. He was also doomed. Nathan was his only son, and he depended on his son to keep the farm running. He was too poor to hire someone to help. Without someone to help him run the farm, Farmer Brun himself was going to die of poverty.
Branwen ran a respectful funeral for Nathan who had died protecting his farm. As the funeral went on, the rest of my party were stealing glances at me with pleading eyes.
Yes, I know what you all want. I nodded to them somberly.
Once the funeral was over, I approached Farmer Brun. "Alright, let's discuss Nathan's share of the spoils. As we've established, Nathan gave his life in the line of defence of the realms from fierce ankhegs. He has a right to a share of the treasure found from the ankhegs. Since Nathan is unable to receive it himself, the proceeds will go to his next of kin. Would that be you or does Nathan have a wife and children?"
"He's not married, no. No children," Farmer Brun replied, stammering.
I made a show of calculating the correct amount, but my hands were really trembling while I counted out the gold coins.
Urgh, this is so painful.
In the end, I handed over 100 gold coins to Farmer Brun, a very good amount of money in the Sword Coast. I topped it off with the ruby ring we had found on the ankheg as well.
"If you meet any difficulty in the future, do visit the Flaming Fist compound at Baldur's Gate and ask them to connect you to us. We can't have the families of heroes be left destitute."
Farmer Brun's eyes were wet with tears when he accepted our gift.