The Heroes of Ascore were still sitting at their long wooden table, picking over the last bits of breakfast. The mood was not sad, but a bit somber, as their long time companion Ranzo Ray had just departed though the door of the inn they now patronized. The Heroes had recently emerged on the outskirts of Waterdeep, in a small village by the water, that probably harbored numerous smugglers, but was safer for them than Waterdeep itself at the moment.
It had been only a short while since Ranzo's departure when a conspicuous fellow entered the inn. He was tall and dark haired. He wore grey robes, and carried a thick wooden staff. About his neck was a silver chain, hanging from which was a medallion shaped liked an unfurled scroll. The man walked directly to the table of the Heroes of Ascore.
"You wear the vestments of Oghma," said Avrillene as he approached.
"Ay," replied the man,"And I have received a vision from the Lord of Knowledge. He wishes me to join you to further my own knowledge and experience. It also seems you are to play an important role in events here in the North very soon, though how was not revealed to me. I only know that I am to help you succeed in your quest."
"Another vision? Well, this is becoming quite the coincidence," said Augustar, as he welcomed the new fellow to their table.
"I am Asrim," the newcomer began, "Asrim Nethys."
They spent the rest of the day asking questions of Asrim, and filling him in on current events.
Yes, coincidence indeed. I found that Ranzo, being triple-classed, just wasn't advancing fast enough for my taste. I originally was going to make Asrim a cleric and than dual to mage, but I decided this wasn't necessary and decided on a straight up mage.
Consulting Amanitas through the Crown, the party discovered that the enemy planned to cut off the main road south of Waterdeep by occupying Daggerford and the Way Inn. Since the Way Inn was further south, this is where they headed, thinking they might be able to cut off Daggerford as well in one swoop.
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| On my way to the Way Inn, I encountered a group of dwarves who gave me a hint to find a hidden dungeon. You can meet a few of them in the game who lead you to different puzzle dungeons. |
The Way Inn is an interesting place, at least within the greater shared world in the Forgotten Realms. It's a walled compound housing a few small buildings around a massive inn. It is a major stopping point for all sorts of travelers between the cities of Waterdeep and Baldur's Gate.
In the game it's mostly a big empty building. There is no description of the Way Inn itself except a sign on the front door. Some forgiveness is due because that is the nature of the Gold Box games, but I think more was needed here. The Way Inn starts a trend of having 16x16 maps with only a few decent encounters in them that continues through the rest of the game.
I don't want to be unnecessarily harsh, but the whole map had a shop where I could rescue the shop keeper, then 4 or 5 unremarkable set encounters if I recall. Sprinkle in some random encounters, and that's all that was happening here. The rest was empty space. Empty space becomes a theme in this game's dungeons. You free the master of the Way Inn, he summarizes the enemy's plans, and then you carry on.
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| You can see by my hp here what I look like after a typical "boss" battle in Treasures. |
Amanitas still had the same message when contacted; it appears the Crown is a one-way communication. So, the Heroes next made their way to Daggerford. They had found out through their earlier travels that the menfolk had all been rounded up and taken to the castle of the Duke of Daggerford.
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| No Subway? Denied!! |
It didn't take long to find out how Daggerford had fallen. The Duke was cowering with his private guard behind a secret door within the castle. Avrilenne shamed him for his cowardice, then the party proceeded to defeat a small army of the unholy triple alliance, or Axis of Evil as I will call them, to rescue the men of Daggerford. That unholy alliance being the same one as the previous game; the Zhentarim, The Krakens, and the Hosttower of the Arcane. Considering how the Hosttower mages often decimated me, part of me can understand the Duke being so quick to hide. The world needs heroes, The Heroes of Ascore.
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| Shame! Shame! |
After rescuing the menfolk, who confirmed that the Duke hid immediately upon being attacked, the townsfolk of Daggerford were very grateful. The inn and temple both offered free services in gratitude (although all temples in the game are free, but it's the thought that counts). The party was also warned that enemy troops were trying to sneak out of town. The Heroes of Ascore put a stop to them, discovering a note. The note directed these troops to warn the Way Inn that the Heroes were on their way, not knowing that we had already been there. The party double checked the Way Inn to make sure it was still safe, it was.
Also in Daggerford, Siulajia confirmed my suspicions about the crystals. When fighting the Axis of Evil, after one opponent is downed, the others smash their crystals. The color of the crystal is determined by its holder. The Hosstower mages are the most likely first target, as mages are obviously the most dangerous, and they have low defense and hitpoints. These factors are also exactly why it is very difficult to obtain the other crystals, as they are held by fighters!
The Heroes of Ascore were very much feeling they deserved their title of heroes as they were celebrated by the townsfolk of Daggerford. They could not walk five feet without someone offering them a gift in thanks for saving their city. The mother of the baking boys showered them with fresh rolls, and served them bread bowls filled with hearty stews and chowders.
Recovering from being a bit overfull on the baker's wares, Augustar observed they should check with Amanitas for their next mission. Placing the plain silver crown on his head, an image of the wizard appeared before them all. "The Waterbaron of Yartar has been kidnapped!" The image said, "Evidence points to their great rival, Triboar, as the culprit. These towns have always played tricks on each other, but never anything like this. I again suspect foul play by our enemies. You must rescue the Waterbaron before these key members of the Lord's Alliance go to war!"
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