We traveled eastward, leaving the area of the ambush site. We coming onto a crossroad of two diverging paths. North would led to the Friendly Arm Inn. South led to the town of Beregost, and further south to Nashkel where the iron mines were. So there was actually a decision to be made here, where to go next.
The default choice would be to meet up with Khalid and Jaheira at the Friendly Arm Inn. Gorion and even E in his letter had strongly recommending picking up Khalid and Jaheira there, two confirmed potential traveling companions. What they couldn't have anticipated was the challenge awaiting me there. I had been carefully collecting cards to play in preparation of said challenge, but it was in fact not obligatory to go to the Friendly Arm Inn first, or at all.
The less obvious route was to head straight to Nashkel, passing through Beregost along the way. This was the option folks took if they wanted an evil playthrough, ignoring the good aligned Khalid and Jaheira in favor of the present evil companions. Such a party may have stopped by Friendly Arm Inn a moment for a particularly nice hidden item there, but not go any further in. This ignores the challenge at the doorstep of Friendly Arm Inn until the party was stronger and better able to deal with it.
The more obscure option was to head south to Beregost, then head to another location entirely and use gimmicks to power level like crazy. This was the gamer option which broke the balance of the early game over one's knee, using the power of foreknowledge to cheese through what would normally be deadly encounters for sweet, sweet experience points (exp). The trouble with this option was that I was here in-person rather than in-game, and so I wasn't sure how to get my current party members to co-operate. I wasn't sure how to justify my foreknowledge, and with literal Zhentarim agents in my party things could get ugly if I wasn't convincing. Worse, I wasn't totally sure the world would allow me to take such exploitive actions without adverse consequences.
I had been putting off this decision until I came to it, but that time to decide was coming soon. The path I took at Lion's Way would dictate the way this entire campaign was conducted.
And that wasn't the only big decision I had to make.
The to the crossroad would take 8 hours, so I had some time to consider our party members as well. Although Xzar and Montaron hated each other, their shared 'acquaintance' kept them working together, and thus they could not be separated unless one of them expires.
Oh, I knew who their 'acquaintance' was. I didn't realise it the first time I played this game and learned their significance only much later. Xzar and Montaron are working for the Zhentarim, the Black Network itself. The Zhentarim is an infamous mercenary network and they are currently being blamed for the iron crisis that is gripping the Sword Coast. The organization is a really big player which controls various strongholds throughout the realms, and runs various nefarious campaigns to extend their holdings. It wasn't a stretch to say their might could threaten a city state such as Baldur's Gate, if it came to that.
Looking at Xzar and Montaron however, one has to wonder. They're both obviously insane! One was an actual raving lunatic, the other an actual stab-happy psychopath. It was hard to imagine any organization entrusting important missions to such daft agents, much less a big player like the Zhentarim itself. In any case, the Zhentarim aren't actually the ones at fault for the current crisis at least, so it could be argued the pair aren't all that significant.
Still, in spite of being evil lunatics, there were good reasons to keep Xzar and Montaron tagging along, at least for now. Reasons which would make become very pertinent when we arrived at the Friendly Arm Inn. IF we arrived there.
Composition-wise, our party balance was totally out of whack. I was a Fighter/thief, emphasis on thief. Imoen was a thief. Montaron was also a fighter/thief, and also a halfling that was somehow taller than me.
The only party member with a different role to contribute was Xzar, of all people. He was a necromancer. Don't expect him to summon undead minions however, not at low levels. Right now, he could Larloch's Minor Drain twice. That's it.
Xzar wasn't the problem though. It was Montaron and Imoen. We had too many thieves. One thief is appropriate. Two is a lot. Three was excessive.
It goes without saying that I was obligatory. Montaron was only a temporary traveling companion, to be cast aside as soon as it was safe to do so. Imoen, in spite of being my childhood friend, was actually optional.
And there lay my current conundrum. If I was already providing all the thieving skills in the party, what role would Imoen play?
I wasn't sure if there was space for her in a party that included myself.
Which path to take, which companions to bring. Eight hours may have seemed like a long time to consider these two issues, but somehow it didn't feel long enough to me.
A stone marker stood ahead of us, reading "Lion's Way, Candlekeep to the west, Coast Way to the East". Leaning against it was an old man with a long white beard, dressed in red robes with leopard skin draped over his should. He really did look like his in-game model.
I blinked in confusion. HE REALLY LOOKS LIKE HIS IN-GAME MODEL!
"Ho there, wanderer. Stay the course a moment to indulge and old man-"
"STOP! Wait there, I'll come over!" I put up my hand, then said to Imoen and the two stooges, "Rest of you, wait here a moment please."
I scuttled over and bid the old man to step out of earshot from the rest. "You've got some nerve coming here only now. If you were but a few hours earlier, Gorion could have been saved. He died because he followed your advice!"
"Why, I'm not sure I catch thy meaning," the old man stuttered. "I'm just an old traveler who seeks decent conversation."
"You didn't even bother to disguise yourself!" I pointed out his getup, "You do realise that half of Gorion's stories were about you? What's more, every other sage that come by Candlekeep described you in pretty succinct detail. And look!"
I pointed at my party. Imoen was smiling, oblivious and puzzled, but Xzar and Montaron were hiding behind her. Trying to, anyway. She wasn't a very large woman. "The Zhentarim agents recognize you too! Because of course they would!"
Sure, I as the player didn't recognize him back when I first played Baldur's Gate, being unfamiliar with the lore of Faerun. But the main character should. Not just him, if famous celebrities like Khelbern "Blackstaff" or the Simbul tried the "Ho there, wanderer" routine without a disguise, I had little doubt the MC would recognize them on sight too.
Elminster, the mysterious 'E' who had written to Gorion, Sage of Shadowdale, founding member of the Harpers, arguably the most powerful wizard in Faerun and most certainly the most famous, coughed into a fist. "Perhaps I may have underestimated the extent of my reputation. Or, for that matter, the diligence of Gorion's student and ward. However-"
He pointed at Imoen, who was still looking puzzled at our ongoing conversation from afar. "-that is the normal reaction to my presence as I am. I regularly walk in public, just like this. Most folks expect Elminster to be grander, more impressive in-person. Certainly not a humble traveler on foot."
Huh? Wait, why didn't Imoen recognise Elminster? She heard the same stories I did, even if she spent more time with Winthrop. I took a second look at the old man. His clothes did match the description in the stories, but plenty of old men wore red robes and carried a staff to aid in walking. The robes were weathered and worn, and not impressive at all. The leopard cloak, while distinctive, wasn't nearly as well known and he didn't always wear it in tales.
"If thou knew what advice I gave Gorion, then thou must have seen my letter and the initial at the bottom. Who could Gorion, a sage staying in Candlekeep, have known whose name started with an E?" Elminster mused, stroking his long beard, then winked. "Or perhaps… you had other means at your disposal."
…What the hell? Just how much did he know? I should have known better than to try to find fault with Elminster of all people. But my head was running red hot.
How would one describe Elminster succinctly? Gandalf, but mischievous. Also a ladies man.
Yeah, that pretty much covers it.
The two of us sat in the shade of the stone marker at Lion's Way, while the rest waited a little further away. Xzar and Montaron were all to happy to put some distance with Elminster, while Imoen was starting to give a suspicious look to everyone's reaction. I would probably need to deal with her after this.
"I am sympathetic to thy loss and any hardships the road may have inflicted on thee. Gorion was a good man, and his passing fills me with regret," Elminster said.
"If you regretted it that much, you could have prevented it. Worse, you gave the advice that caused his very death," I retorted.
I know, I know. Why was I picking a fight with THE Elminster of legend? He could vaporize me on the spot with but a gesture if I pushed him too hard. I guess I was just in a bad mood. I was taking Elminster's benevolence and patience for granted, which in a different setting would be no different from courting death.
Fortunately for me, Elminster was indeed benevolent and patient. "Candlekeep's defences are formidable, it is true. But even its mighty walls are vulnerable to more subtle infiltration. An assassin or two. Something worse, perhaps. I cannot say more."
I wanted to argue, but I knew he was right. Two human assassins had already infiltrated Candlekeep. Worse would in fact come later. The only way for me to survive was to become strong enough to defeat the threats myself. That had to happen outside of Candlekeep.
Elminster shook his head. "As to my lack of action, I do apologise to thee. But my interference in this affair cannot proceed beyond limited advice. I must maintain my stance to remain neutral in this matter for reasons I cannot divulge."
"Are you serious? What good is all your power if you cannot use it?" I spat out unthinkingly.
"When one comes into as much power and responsibility as I, there is danger in doing too much. One of the most valuable lessons that life has taught me is when NOT to go sticking my pipe in other people's affairs. What champions would arise if I personally smote every threat to the realms? More troublingly, what if I supported the wrong hero, one who grew into a tyrant? I would have much greater responsibility over the rise of such a tyrant. Or perhaps, again, something worse."
In other words, he wasn't yet sure what I would become? I wanted to retort, but I couldn't in all honesty find fault with his logic. I've watched too many people play evil runs of the game, eventually becoming literal dark gods, beings with far more power than a mere Chosen of Mystra. If Elminster had aided the main character directly, he would have been responsible for the creation of an evil god.
Elminster was very much aware of my true nature, after all. There was a battle going on over my very soul, and the sway of dark gods was very real.
I slumped over, the spirit gone out from my body. I had so much anger and frustration to take out on Elminster, but I couldn't justify any of it.
"Again, thou have my sympathies for thy losses and the hardships thou wilst yet endure. And yet, I am certain everything shall turn out for the best," Elminster said gently. "Perhaps I could provide counsel in Gorion's stead. Thou must have burdens thou wish to."
The Sage of Shadowdale was offering his advice? In spite of knowing what I was, and what I could become? Huh. It'd be foolish to turn that offer down.
"Would you prioritize friendship over power? Over efficiency?" I asked once I found the words, "What if prioritizing your friend could mean risking the loss of your very life, and plunge the realms into war and death?"
Elminster actually took a moment to consider. "Thy phrasing is leading, and I like not being dragged in the direction it leads. If thy statement were truly so, thy would not even have to ask. Rather, it is quite possible to prioritise thy friend over power and still emerge victorious. Is it not so?" Elmisnter said while stroking his beard again. "Pragmatism has oft been used as an excuse to justify lust for power. To be truly pragmatic, power should be used to gain what one really wants rather than be pursued for its own sake."
I blinked. That wasn't exactly a statement that was easy to digest. The whole point of power is to use it to get what I really want, was it? I never saw it like that before. Maybe it was because Elminster already had so much power he had such a perspective.
Elmisnter straightened out and leaned forward onto his staff. "My, but I have wasted too much of thy time and said too much already. I shall take my leave and wish thee-"
"Wait, second question!" I quickly blurted out, "It's the last one, I promise."
After Elminster left, Imoen was waiting with her arms folded. "So. Who was that then?"
"E stands for Elminster, apparently," I said, "Luckily for me, I paid attention in class."
She didn't express any shock or surprise. Must have figured it out by this point. "Did you give him a piece of your mind?"
"I tried. But did you really expect me to win an argument with Elminster?"
"Should have let me have a go at it," Imoen pouted, "If it were puffguts who was killed, I'd raise hell and highwater to see it right."
Xzar and Montaron were still waiting behind Imoen. They were acting somewhat demure now, somehow. Perhaps drawing the attention of such a powerful enemy would work in my favor?
I took some time to regale my conversation with him, leaving out the bits about the first decision I was making. "I asked him for advice. And well, asked his permission. How do I put this? I'm through playing nice, playing fair. So I asked him if I could, well, game the system. I asked him if I could cheat."
"You asked Elminster if you could cheat?!?" Imoen, Montaron and Xzar said together. "Of course you should cheat, why ask him? What did he say?"
Hmph. This is why I didn't bother asking ANY of you three. I knew each and every one of you would want to cheat as much as possible.
"Elminster didn't respond directly. He regaled me with a tale about how he once was trapped in the depths of the nine hells. Mystra herself came down to rescue him. The Simbul came too. The Simbul is-"
"The Simbul was his mortal lover, a powerful witch. On the other hand, Mystra was his goddess lover. Uh, lover who is a goddess. I did pay attention in class, ya know?" Imoen said, "What could the Simbul do if Mystra was already there?"
"A lot, apparently. The Simbul had whipped out powerful magic called 'infinite wands' something or other. She used manipulated hundreds of wands at once with her hair. Blasted the demons into oblivion."
"What type of ridiculous spell is that?" Xzar exclaimed, "It breaks all the known laws of magic! I, I love it!"
Xzar proceeded to make pew-pew noises while holding his hair and pointing as if he had wands in them. Imoen played along by pretended to be shot each time, but Montaron just grumbled and looked away with his arms crossed.
"Yeah. Sounds like a cheat skill to me too. I think…" I paused, uncertain. "I think Elminster was trying to tell me 'yes'. Yes, go ahead and cheat."
Elminster was practically the voice of Ed Greenwood, creator of Faerun himself. If he said its fine, who was I to argue?
"Hurrah! Let's cheat! Cheat! Cheat!" Imoen, Xzar cheered and did a happy dance round and round me. Even Montaron joined in, to my surprise.
"…" I definitely need to lose the Zhentarim stooges. They're having a terrible influence on Imoen.