A dozen kobold commandoes later, and we had found the exit out of the Firewine Dungeon. Or is it the entrance? What I mean is, we were now out of the dungeon, and we had full view of the actual bridge that was Firewine Bridge. The bridge itself was colossal, and stretched across a ravine, what was once a dried up river.
"Apparently, Firewine Bridge used to be an Elven town," Neera said, "Place was destroyed in a sorcerous battle, which left large pockets of wild magic."
Another town destroyed by a mage battle? Or was it the same battle which devastated Ulcaster nearby which also destroyed Firewine? We didn't have the answers.
We looked at the stone bridge before us. No pseudo-Celtic motifs, no sign of trees or integration into plant life.
Urm...
I think we all had the same thought, but Branwen was the first to say it. "My people had little contact with elves back in my village back in the Norheim Isles, so I am not very familiar with their culture or structures. Yet I must say that bridge doesn't look elven to me."
Neera scratched the back of her head. "…Maybe not the bridge itself? Don't see how a bridge counts as a town in the first place."
Elven or not, the bridge was quite a sight to behold. Back when the river had not dried up, a river that size could have supported a vast contingent of visiting trading ships seeking to peddle their goods at the nearby town. The size of the bridge would have allowed even the larger trading vessels to pass under it safely.
We had barely left the dungeon exit when we came upon another traveler. A towering warrior with a sheathed longsword wearing studded leather armor, and very nice-looking set of gauntlets around his wrists.
He waved to us. "Greetings, little ones. My name is Meilum. I'm the Sword Coast's most skilled swordsman. You may have heard of my name, I'm quite famous after all.
My eyes flared. "LITTLE ONES?!? I'll show you- MFFFF!"
As I got tackled into the ground by the pink irritations, Jaheira took over. "Well met. I'm afraid I haven't heard of you before."
Meilum was aghast. "You've never heard my name! Why, that's impossible. I'm famous. Think hard… you have heard of Meilum the Masterful."
Meilum the Masterful? Crap! This is another one of those optional challenges the developers had put in the game with an exceptional reward. However, the way to unlock the challenge was to insult the guy's honor and make him attack.
"You're only masterful cos of your fancy gauntlets-MFFFF!"
Will you girls stop closing my mouth! Our party's magic items depend on it!
While I was wrestling with the two pink irritations, the rest of the party looked at each other, shook their heads.
"I-I haven't heard of any Meilum the anything from Calimshan," Khalid said. "No offence!"
"Nor from Tethyr," Jaheira said.
"Nor from Norheim," Branwen said.
"Nor from -ack- High Forest," Neera said.
"Don't ask me, I've been cooped up in Candlekeep!" Imoen said. "Stop struggling, Sonny!"
Meilum was turning redder and redder. "Are you all insulting me?! You had better not dare insult me, or I'll show you the metal of my blade. Once I've drawn my sword, I'm honor bound to wet the blade."
Imoen, Neera and I all froze, mid-wrestle. Was this guy for real?
This was escalating much faster than any of us expected. We looked to Jaheira to see how she'd respond to such threats of violence.
Jaheira's eyes narrowed. "I do not appreciate your tone. Back it off, or you will have your chance to prove your skill," she said, her tone ice cold. As an afterthought, she added sardonically, "…Meilum the Masterful."
Meilum was practically blowing steam out from his ears. Slowly, he drew his blade, and gave it a lick. "Now you've done it. You'll be sorry for doubting my skill. So very sorry…"
My mouth hung agape for a moment. Did Jaheira really just court death all by herself? What about all those times she looked at me with scorn when I did it? The world isn't fair, I tell you!
Right, Meilum. THAC0 7, AC 2, 1d8+12 damage per hit, APR 4! Those stats are so amazing , they bear repeating. Thac0 7, which meant he had a total of +13 bonuses to attack! 1d8 + freaking 12 damage per hit! To top it all, APR 4 means FOUR ATTACKS PER ROUND. FOUR! While some of that came from the special gauntlets he wore, Meilum could very well be the one of finest swordsman in the Sword Coast, considering he's only level 6. Meilum also had an impressive save vs spell of 8, so spells to debilitate him have only a 35% chance of working.
Imoen and Neera immediately jumped off me, and Jaheira and Khalid moved in to engage.
"Scatter! He's too dangerous!" I cried out.
Everyone's eyes widened, but the obeyed and moved out of reach of Meilum's blade.
Meilum wasn't about to let his prey off so easily. He advanced upon Jaheira, his enchanted blade drawn and flashing menacingly. "Too late for regrets now!"
Jaheira wouldn't be able to outrun him for long. Thankfully, she didn't need to. I managed to activate Algernon's Cloak in time, aimed right at Meilum.
Meilum froze a moment, and looked at me with an expression, uh, what is that expression?
"Awwwww, aren't you the cutest widdle thing!" Meilum said. He sheathed his sword, and sauntered up to me with his hands to his cheeks. Not exactly threatening, but somehow I felt super threatened right now.
"Wha, why are you looking at me like that?"
He leaned down to me and squeezed my cheeks. "Good god, you're soooooo cute! I could squeeze these widdle cheeks forever!"
WHAT. WHAT?!? Why was this happening? I squirmed and pulled myself away, but Melium dogged after me.
Everyone else stood around, stunned by what was happening. I mean of course they were, what the hell was happening?
"Waaaait, don't go! I've just gotta ruffle that silly hair!"
Apparently their shock wore of, because now they started giggling at my distress.
"Stop that! Get off! Obey me, you jerk!" I cried out in vain, pushing at Melium with my short stubby arms. Since when does the charm magic work like this?!? I turned to the rest of my party. "Don't just stand there, help me!"
That sent a wave of laughter through everyone else.
"Looks like you were right, after all. That cloak really is useful," Branwen said between guffaws.
"It's charm magic, of course!" Neera cried out. Tears were flowing from her eyes. "Maybe if you were a woman, he'd be trying to woo you."
I was crying too, but not from laughter. My aura! My precious aura!
Meilum's save vs Algernon's cloak wasn't nearly so impressive; the cloak had a 65% chance of charming him for 12 hours. Not great odds, but it was the best chance we had at ending the fight quickly. Perhaps we should have taken the time to cast Doom and Chant on him to reduce his saving throws further. 80% is much better odds. I was fortunate that wasn't necessary.
Eventually, we convinced Melium to help protect me from harm. Since he was the greatest swordsman and all.
Since we had a cheat character, Meilum, acting as our new meat shield, it was time to look for trouble. There was in fact ANOTHER cheat character, or rather an optional challenge, nearby.
From our vantage point at the bank of the dried up river, we could see a woman in mage robes below us. With Meilum at the lead, we carefully approached her.
The woman, Carsa, was moaning aloud while holding a jar in her hands. "He's driving me… mad! Oh, please make it stop, make him stop his screaming. AAAHhhhhh…! Shut it up!"
All eyes were on the jar Carsa was holding.
Jaheira was just behind Meilum. Her brows furrowed, but her voice was gentle. "What's wrong? What is driving you to madness? If you want help, you need to tell us."
Carsa was swaying to and fro. "He… it's in my head. It won't be quiet," she said. She let out another pained moan. "My companions and I… we explored the Firewine ruins. We found… we found this jar. It… it drove them all mad. They hacked and they cut, and… they're all dead now, and only I'm left."
My eyes narrowed. "If she brings that jar to civilization, think of the consequences."
"Obviously we can't allow the jar to leave this place," Jaheira concurred. Worried faces all around, but no one protested.
Carsa couldn't stand any longer. She slumped to the floor, still holding the jar. "The voice… it tells me to say the name. If I say the name, it promises great rewards."
"Don't say it!" Jaheira yelled. "Just drop the jar!"
"Could we shoot it out of her hands?" Imoen whispered to me.
"It may break, let out whatever's inside," I said. "But the way things are going, we may not have a better option."
Carsa's eyes glazed over, but a sinister smile formed on her face. "You not take the jar from Carsa. It's mine. MINE!"
"Don't you want the voice to stop? Put down the jar!" Jaheira pleaded.
"Put it down!" we pleaded. "We don't want it. We're just trying to help!"
I know how this plays out in-game, but we had to try.
Carsa lifted the jar above her head and started screaming, "Noooooo-"
I nodded to Imoen. An arrow was already nocked in her bow, and so she took aim and fired. Before Carsa could say another word, an arrow hit the jar out of her hands. Carsa slumped to the ground as soon as it did, but the jar shattered against the dried riverbed.
Kahrk is one of the most difficult optional challenges in the game, considering the stage of the game the party encounters him. HP103, AC-3 (-8 vs missiles), THAC06, APR4 again! The worst thing is he starts with both Minor Globe of Invulnerability and Protection from Normal Missiles (why does he even have this with such good AC vs missiles?). The minor globe protects him from magic up to level 3, so the Magic Missile strategy to remove his Mirror Images will not work. We didn't have a spell to remove such protections yet, unfortunately. Since he is level 12, Kahrk's Lightning Bolts would do 10d6 damage (average 35.5), which could easily OVERKILL early game parties.
A towering ogre mage, clad in resplendent Kara-Tur style lamellar armour, emerged from where the jar broke. Kahrk had returned to the world of the living. "I am free... at last," Kahrk proclaimed. He looked around. "Mortals, before you die, know that you have pleased -"
Except no one was in sight. Kahrk looked at the woman below him who had perished, and thus could not sustain him. He had seen the party of adventurers through her eyes earlier, so he was sure they were just here. That was why he had cast protection spells on himself when the woman he had cursed was on the cusp of releasing him. In the moment of his release, his ability to see through her eyes was cut short by her death.
Did they really just run away as soon as the jar dropped? What craven fools!
This cannot be! Kahrk hungers for sustenance! His long imprisonment left him famished. He must find victims upon which to feed!
Kahrk took a moment to look at his surroundings. Where was he? He was imprisoned by the elves of the river, but the river was dried up? Where were the elves? The whole town? Which way should he go to find more sustenance?
In any case, Kahrk would not find it at the bottom of a dried up river. He walked towards the closest river bank. There, he found a human warrior with longsword drawn dressed in studded leather armour.
"Hold, monster! Before you stands Meilum the Masterful, greatest swordsman in the Sword Coast!"
Kahrk let out a laugh. "The greatest swordsman is nothing before KAHRK, mightiest of the ogre magi! Come, warrior, and meet your doom!"
Kahrk quickly protected himself with Mirror Images first. Next would come lightning bolt-
The warrior was running up a narrow path that led to the top of the river bank, away from Kahrk.
Kahrk raged and fumed. Were all mortals cowards in this age?!? Kahrk ran after his prey up the path, and didn't notice when his foot caught a snare along the way.
Kahrk DID notice when a fallen pillar near the top of the path started rolling down, along the narrow path Kahrk was on.
Protection from Normal Missiles certainly wouldn't protect him from that! Kahrk threw himself over the side of the embankment to avoid the rolling pillar, and himself rolled down the jagged hill. He landed at the bottom onto his right shoulder, badly, grunting from the pain.
This wasn't how it was meant to go! Kahrk is the mightiest of ogre magi!
Kahrk heard someone clicking their tongue above him. The human warrior from before was showing off some intricate sword movements. "On your feet! You shall witness my mastery first hand!"
"A lightning bolt will show you who is the mightiest!" Kahrk screamed and began incanting.
Meilum's sword thrust came with such speed that shocked Kahrk. Fortunately, the warrior only took out an image, but this established that the warrior was in fact a threat. No matter, as Kahrk's spell was complete, and he released a deadly bolt of lightning at the swordsman. Nothing is as fast as lightning!
The swordsman moved with shocking speed, surprising Kahrk once again. Indeed, nothing could match the speed of a bolt of lightning, but the swordsman could somewhat match the speed of Kahrk's hands aiming the bolt. The bolt which would have surely killed any mortal only grazed the warrior.
"Let's see you try that again!" Kahrk screamed as he prepared another lightning bolt.
"Let's see if your illusions can last!" Meilum taunted, wincing through the pain, and slashing through another image.
Kahrk let out another deadly bolt, which the swordsman somehow survived again. Kahrk's most potent spells exhausted, he started incanting an acid arrow spell instead.
Kahrk hardly noticed when his Minor Globe of Invulnerability ran out. It was at that moment when a barrage of Magic Missiles from above struck out the rest of his images.
Kahrk looked above. The party of adventurers from earlier was charging right at him with melee weapons drawn.
Kahrk couldn't change targets for his acid arrows spell, nor did he want to. The warrior in front of him was too deadly to be left alive, and already badly wounded from two lightning bolts. The warrior's sword was already digging deep into Kahrk's flesh with every strike now that Kahrk's images were depleted. But Kahrk was patient. When this champion died, so would the rest of his companions.
Kahrk had just unleashed another acid arrow onto the swordsman in triumph when his head caved under the strike of an invisible quarterstaff.
Meilum, hit by two lightning bolts and two acid arrows, was in rough shape. He leaned over his fallen foe, in agony as acid continued to bite into him.
"Meilum the Masterful!" a little halfling said to him with stars in his eyes. "What do you have to say to your fallen foe?"
Meilum put on a brave face, gritting his teeth through the pain. He pointed at his fallen foe. "You thought you were the mightiest ogre magi?" Then Meilum did a flourish with his sword. "But it is the sword that is mightier than the ogre magi!"
Then Meilum took a sling bullet directly to the face.
The easiest way to beat Kahrk is to use the time-honored strategy of waiting out his main buff. At which point, one can burn down his images with Magic Missiles easily. Kahrk's saves were too ridiculous to use most debuffs, so we relied on Magic Missles and buffing our own accuracy to take him out before he could kill Meilum. If you don't have a meat-shield to eat his lightning bolts, there's always a Potion of Absorption or other forms of resistance to lightning.
Getting both cheat characters to fight it out is ideal, of course.
I beg your pardon, the (arguably) easiest way to beat Kahrk is to wait until you reach Baldur's Gate city and purchase an Arrow of (Ogre) Slaying sold at the Sorcerous Sundries. The arrow has a hidden 15 thac0 bonus so it'll probably hit and then will kill Kahrk automatically. But Baldur's Gate city is VERY far along. We're not waiting that long, of course.
Other than a Longsword+1, Meilum also had Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise (THAC0+1, Damage +2), which helped explain why he was so good with his sword. I took these since the damage from the gauntlets does get multiplied with backstabs, unlike the bonus damage from Strength.
Kahrk had a regular katana and some gems. The reward from defeating him was mainly the experience points (3.5k).