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Overview
This part of the city contains the city gates, which lead to Wyrm's Crossing (AR0900). All travelers coming from the south pass through it. It is also the part of the city where the thieves chose to establish their guild, being reasonably far from the Flaming Fist Castle. There are also a good number of shops and a high selection of wares in this part of city, keeping the shoppers happy.
There are two things the author of these lines wishes to point out. First, don't get too carried away by all of the magnificent wares and spend all of your hard earned money. Instead, see what your needs are as you explore the city and then decide what to buy. Second, be careful if you decide to do a bit of thieving. The guards are called very often and you'll then have to fight them. On that, I hope that you enjoy your stay at the Gate.
1 - Elminster
The first time you enter the city, you'll meet Elminster here. He'll tell you a bit about Gorion and what he was like before he adopted you. He'll also tell you that you can trust both Scar and Duke Eltan of the Flaming Fist. Then he'll take his leave once more.
2 - Lucky Aello's Discount Store
Lucky Aello will sell you a bunch of cursed items, including (if you're playing the EE)
Gold Digger and
The Ossifier.
3 - Taverns
At both of these taverns you'll be able to buy drinks and rent rooms.
4 - Shop of Silence
The proprietor Silence will sell you a variety of thief-oriented items, including a
Cloak of Protection +1,
Leather Armor +1,
Potions of Master Thievery, and
Studded Leather Armor +1. She'll also allow you to sleep in her shop for free.
5 - Arkion's House
Inside this house you'll meet the necromancer Arkion. He'll ask you to go down into the
Sewers and find him a corpse -- the riper the better. You'll find corpses in a variety of places in the
Sewers. When you bring one up to Arkion, he'll reward you with 250 gp and 1800 xp.
You can also kill Arkion if you want. He's worth 900 xp, and you'll find Arkion's Bloodstone Amulet on his corpse. You'll need the amulet (which you can also pickpocket) for quests from Nemphre (in
Baldur's Date Southeast) and Ordulinian (#7).
Also inside the house you can pick up a
Medium Shield +1 (on the ground floor) and a
Potion of Insulation (on the upper floor).
6 - Maltz's Weapon Shop
Inside this shop, Maltz will sell you some basic weapons and ammunition. You can also steal a
Potion of Perception from a locked cabinet (on the ground floor).
7 - Sorcerous Sundries
You'll meet a few people of interest inside this shop:
- Halbazzer Drin (on the ground floor). He's the proprietor. He'll sell you a wide variety of +1 weapons, magical ammunition, potions, scrolls, and wands. If you're playing the EE, then he'll also have
The Thresher +2 for sale.
If you have a Lock of Nymph's Hair (from Abela in
Baldur's Gate West) on you when you talk to Drin, then he'll offer to weave it into a
Nymph Cloak for 100 gp, or buy it for 500 gp.
- Ordulinian (on the ground floor). He'll tell you about Arkion (#5) and Nemphre (in
Baldur's Gate Southeast), two necromancers who are "fighting over trinkets and baubles of little use or value," and he'll recommend that you steer clear of them. But if you talk to him a second time, then he'll ask you to bring him Arkion's Bloodstone Amulet and Nemphre's Onyx Ring, both of which can be pickpocketed -- or looted from their corpses. If you complete this task, then you'll earn a
Cloak of Non-Detection (EE only) and 3500 xp as a reward. The game will also switch the quest item jewelry for regular jewelry, which you can then sell at shops.
Note: Nemphre will also ask you to steal Arkion's Bloodstone Amulet. If you want to complete her quest as well as Ordulinian's, then you'll need to bring the amulet to Nemphre first, then probably kill her to get it back, and then bring it to Ordulinian.
- Niemain, Oulam, William Garst, and Wheber Ott (on the upper floor). You'll stumble upon these four mages as they're preparing a ritual. If you're meek to them, or if you have Xzar in your party, then they'll leave you in peace. Otherwise they'll attack you.
The four mages have very little health -- one well-placed Fireball spell might be able to take them all out -- and so they're not much of a challenge. You'll earn 5400 xp for defeating them, and when you loot their corpses you'll find a
Dagger +1, five
Darts of Stunning, a
Mage Robe of Cold Resistance, a
Mage Robe of Electrical Resistance, two
Mage Robes of Fire Resistance, a Ring of Clumsiness, two scrolls of
Identify, two scrolls of
Luck, and a
Wand of Fire.
8 - Niklos
When you speak with Niklos here, he'll tell you that his boss, Alatos "Ravenscar" Thuibuld (#16), would like to have a word with you -- and he'll offer you 50 gp as compensation for your time. If you accept this deal, then Niklos will lead you to the Thieves' Guild (Exit C), and he'll inform you that the password for admittance is "Fafhrd."
9 - Barrel
Inside this barrel you'll find a Cursed Scroll of Stupidity.
10 - Cauternus
The first time you enter the Elfsong Tavern, Cauternus will come up to you and wish you good hunting on your travels.
11 - Brevlik
The gnome Brevlik will try to hire you to steal the Telescope from the Hall of Wonders in
Baldur's Gate West. You can milk him for 15 gp to even hear his offer, and then you can also demand an extra treasure when he finishes making his pitch.
To successfully steal the Telescope, you should enter the Hall of Wonders at night when it's deserted (except perhaps for a fellow thief named Alora). The Telescope's case will be locked but not trapped. When you deliver the Telescope to Brevlik, you'll receive a
Wand of Lightning, 500 gp, and 5500 xp in reward.
12 - Bartender
The bartender will allow you to buy drinks and rent rooms.
13 - Cyrdemac
Cyrdemac is involved in a quest from Areana in
Baldur's Gate North. If you kill Cyrdemac, then you'll earn 975 xp, and you'll find a
Bastard Sword +1 on his corpse.
14 - Alyth Elendara
Elendara is the owner of the inn. If you talk to her twice, then she'll offer you drinks like the bartender downstairs (#12).
15 - Merchant
This merchant is the twin brother of the trinket merchant in the Carnival, and he'll have the same items for sale, including an
Amulet of Protection, a
Necklace of Missiles, a
Ring of Infravision, and a
Shield Amulet.
16 - Alatos "Ravenscar" Thuibuld and Resar
Ravenscar will offer you a job. He'll tell you that a mage named Shandalar has figured out how to create Halruaan skyships, and that he's planning on selling the recipe for them to Grand Duchess Liia Jannath in Baldur's Gate. The problem is, the Halruaans don't want the recipe to be sold, and so they dispatched their agent Resar to work with the Thieves' Guild to break up the negotiations.
What you'll need to do is steal the three main ingredients necessary for the sale: a set of rituals, an artifact fragment, and an ancient statuette. The three items are being held by Shandalar's daughters at Oberan's Estate in
Baldur's Gate Central. You'll need to complete the burglary within ten days.
Note: If you refuse the job, or if you demand payment up front, or if you insult Ravenscar, then he and the rest of the guild will attack you.
You won't find much of interest on the first two levels of Oberan's Estate, but on the third level you'll meet the daughters. If they spot you, then they'll attack you, so you can try to sneak past them (probably with
Potions of Invisiblity) if you want. Otherwise, you'll have to fight them, but the battle shouldn't be too tough.
You'll find Delorna's Spellbook, Helshara's Artifact Fragment, and Ithmeera's Statue in a desk in their bedroom. When you deliver these items to Ravenscar, you'll earn 4000 xp, but Resar will decide to tie up loose ends, and he'll attack you. However, if you completed Narlen's quests (#17), then he'll sneak up behind Resar and kill him with one thrust of his blade. Killing Resar yourself isn't much more difficult, as he'll act on his own, and the thieves' guild won't help him. You'll find an
Adventurer's Robe, a scroll of
Fireshield (Blue), and a
Wand of Paralyzation on Resar's corpse.
17 - Narlen Darkwalk
Darkwalk will offer you a pair of tests to see if you're worthy of being in the guild.
For Darkwalk's first test, you'll have to act as a lookout while he and his partner Rededge burgle a house in
Baldur's Gate Northeast. To pass the test, you'll need to visit
Baldur's Gate Northeast after Hour 21, and send your thief alone to meet with Darkwalk in front of the Splurging Sturgeon. If you do this correctly, then Darkwalk will be there, and you'll automatically walk to the right position to stand watch while Darkwalk and Rededge get to work.
Shortly after Darkwalk leaves, a guard will come by and ask you what you're up to. You should yell out to warn Darkwalk -- "Make for the dark!" -- and then flee the map to avoid fighting the guard. If you complete the test this way, then when you return to Darkwalk in the guild, he'll give you 100 gp as your share of the loot. If you complete the test in some other way, then you'll fail it and Darkwalk might challenge you to a duel.
Note: To end up in the correct part of
Baldur's Gate Northeast for the test, you'll have to approach the district from the west.
For Darkwalk's second test, he'll tell that the target is a jewel fence named Gantolandan, who recently came into possession of a Rogue Stone. To pass the test, you'll need to travel to
Baldur's Gate Southeast after Hour 21, and send a thief alone to meet with Darkwalk outside the Blade and Stars. If you do this correctly, then Darkwalk will be there, and he'll tell you that for this job Rededge will be the lookout, he'll be the lockpicker, and you'll be the one going inside to do the stealing. Darkwalk will then escort you to Gantolandan's house, and he'll open the door for you.
Inside the house, you'll find the Rogue Stone in a locked and trapped chest near the beds on the upper floor. However, Gantolandan will be sleeping nearby (even if you go in during the day), and it's possible that your activities will wake him up. The first time this happens you can meow like a cat to put him back to sleep, the second time you can tell him that you're a stray cat, but the third time he'll figure out that something is wrong and he'll attack you.
So if you want to steal the gem as quietly as possible, then you should get in and out quickly. But if you don't mind a little violence, then you can kill Gantolandan for 1200 xp and his
Long Sword +1. Darkwalk won't seem to notice the difference. Speaking of Darkwalk, when you deliver the Rogue Stone to him in the thieves' guild, he'll give you three Pearls as your share of the take.
18 - Husam
Husam will give you some backgorund information about the Iron Throne, and he'll invite you to meet wtih him inside the Elfsong Tavern (Exit A) if you want to learn more. However, if you talk to him there, then he'll just tell you to go to the
Iron Throne Headquarters in
Baldur's Gate South.
19 - Black Lily
Black Lily is a merchant. She'll sell you a variety of potions, magical ammunition, and +1 items, including a
Cloak of Protection +1, a
Sling +1, and
Studded Leather Armor +1. If you're playing the EE, then she'll also have a
Sling of Unerring Accuracy +1.
In a barrel behind Lily, you'll find a
Manual of Quickness of Action (+1 Dexterity).
Exits
- Entrance to the Elfsong Tavern.
- Stairs between Levels 1 and 2 of the Elfsong Tavern.
- Entrances to the Thieves' Guild. At each of these entrances, you'll meet a thief who will ask you for the password, which you'll learn from Niklos (#8). If you answer correctly, or if you ask why you'd need a password, then the thief will let you pass. Otherwise he and all of the other thieves in the guild will turn hostile.
- Staircase down to the
Thieves' Maze. You won't be allowed to use this exit until Chapter 7.
