Mask of the Betrayer, let's play it!

[DriacKin]

Option 4 is a complete waste right now, if I were to pick it. It only has its uses if I were to talk to her after defeating Okku. We'll discuss that later.

Interesting. Looking forward to hearing about this, especially if it is what I think it is.

Even if we are playing the evil option, I vote to keep Kaelyn alive, as her character was one of the best in MotB.
The banter between her and Myurkul was pure gold.

 

[Silellak]

Option 4 is a complete waste right now, if I were to pick it. It only has its uses if I were to talk to her after defeating Okku. We'll discuss that later.

Interesting. Looking forward to hearing about this, especially if it is what I think it is.

Even if we are playing the evil option, I vote to keep Kaelyn alive, as her character was one of the best in MotB.
The banter between her and Myurkul was pure gold.

I don't think he plans to kill her, but he'll likely explain what the option WOULD have been, if he'd done things differently. Which is the nice thing about an LP like this one.

 

[deuxhero]

1.What is your build?

Barbarian with levels of Frenzied Berserker. When I'll reach level 30 I'll be 20 levels Barb and 10 levels FB. I have all the Power attack feats available so far, the Cleaves, weapon proficiency/focus/critical/etc in Scythes, Dodge, Mobility and some other stuff I can't remember.

2.you really should have gotten the ability to summon the water spirit instead of killing it, the 1/day summonig a spirit is very handy for supressing hunger.

You mean the one in the Barrow? I didn't kill it - I got a crystal from it and it disappeared. I never used the crystal, though, so maybe it does what you say it does. But there are packs of neutral spirits outside Mulsantir that appear when you get near them. You can disable your companions' AI, use Provoke Spirits to herd them together then use Devour Spirit/Suppress/Spirit Gorge. You don't need to summon anything else to survive.

The crystal and a few summon spells allow you to do it almost anywhere, you don't really have time to return to the gate to suppress by them when you have say... devoured the entire coven (if you are evil). If you are going to go minimal use, supressing untill you have minimal hunger and devouring 1 spirit/day (free of hunger costs) is fine though.

@DriacKin

She gets even beter if you go evil acctually, it is good fun to lie to her for influence with One of Many (you may want to character editor/console your social skills to made levels though, just to give us more options and lets you acctually make the bluff checks).

 

[Reject_666_6]

My photobucket bandwidth is at 8,5 out of 10 GB for the month, so the LP thus far may be nerfed until the 14th of October. I have five more accounts ready, though, so updates will continue as normal.

 

[Silellak]

If you want, you can send me the screenshots and I can upload them to my personal webspace. Just let me know.

 

[Reject_666_6]

Actually, I just got an idea to fix the bandwidth problem. Thanks anyway!

EDIT: Ok, it's fixed. I basically reuploaded the pics to another of my accounts, copied my posts in Noteplad++, replaced the root of the old pics with that of the new ones (Photobucket has a very intuitive file name system) and pasted the new text instead of my posts. Bandwidth for the month is 0 on that account and it resets on the 14th, like the other one.

 

[Occasionally Fatal]

I support this LP, as I can't stand to play this game myself, but am interested in the story/characters.

 

[xantrius]

Thanks for the LP.

Hope the One of Many route is taking, embracing the "curse". I've never seen that route, I just can't stomach the combat anymore; in my first play-through I found it bearable, and even fun on occasions.... ..

 

[Reject_666_6]

Episode 3: The Build-up

In this episode of MotB, a stunning revelation will NOT be made... however, some dramatic moments will unfold before your very EYES! Some topics we'll be approaching today: Kelemvor, god or machine? The Ice Troll Lodge - a palace of berserkers, or a Rashemi jacuzzi orgy spot? And Heliari: mad scientist, mad wizard, or just plain mad?

As we last left our heroes, they had just rescued Kaelyn from the jaws of utter boredom and were bringing her back to the surface to aid in battling the accursed spirit army. However, we have some unfinished business with Kaelyn's siblings, so let's solve that problem first. As we go, here's some of the MotB soundtrack to listen to.

If Efrem sees you with Kaelyn in your party, he'll accost you on the spot, like this:

Now get ready for the most boring, text-filled update you're seen so far in this LP.

They're almost worthless in combat, if I remember correctly, so winning some influence with Kaelyn should pay off more in this situation.

Plus, I get this helmet.

It's cool that the developers actually went through the trouble of drawing another portrait for Efrem when he's without his helm, even if it's just for two lines.


Now, our next stop will the the temple of Kelemvor here. The building is actually situated on the same spot where the Death God's Vault is located in the Shadow Plane. If you'll notice the wall surrounding it, you can see it's full of murals of suffering people - well even if you zoom in, all you see in the wall is just random scribbles, but that's what it's supposed to represent. We didn't go inside the first time because I wanted to get Kaelyn first for this. If you go in alone or with Safiya, a standard conversation takes place. If Gann's in your party, however, he interjects a few times which revels a lot about his character. The next step for me to try is obviously to have Kaelyn in my party too.

Hmph. Another temple to your 'gods'.

Paydirt.

So it seems she's been here before. She was a priest or a missionary of something of Kelemvor in the past.

Contrary to what you'd expect from the servant of a "death god", this priest is one of the few completely honest and wise individuals you'll meet in the game.

BARTER.

So as you can gather, a whole lot of exposition and backstory just got thrown our way. We won't get the whole story on the Wall of the Faithless until very late in the game. So far, we have this priest's version of events (which is the least biased) and Kaelyn's version, which I haven't extracted from her fully yet. The wall is basically a hell for atheists, so it's natural that there will be some very conflicting opinions about it.

What's interesting is that the Wall is completely irrelevant to our predicament right now, and will be for most of the game. The fact that there's so much exposition regarding it without its relevance being made clear is a bold move on Obsidian's part, but it turned out well because it adds to the replay value in a good way.

There's one more person in the temple, Yusef the ACOLYTE!

Turns out they're not referring to this place, but the Shadow Realm's Vault.

Here's our updated quest log.

There are also a lot of goodies in this temple, which Davorik is completely oblivious to you taking.

For some reason, having Gann in the party is completely circumvented by having Kaelyn in it, so I'll summarise what would have happened if Gann had talked. Gann is a non-believer, and very stubborn at the same time. While Davorik is explaining about the Wall and etc., Gann interjects about how it's all mumbo-jumbo and there's no such thing as the Wall. A few Lore checks appear, which show that you already know about the Wall and that it's real, but if you use them, or if you agree with Davorik at all about the wall, you lose influence with Gann. It shows how scared he is about the prospect of suffering for his arrogance in not believing, so he dismisses the Wall as false and anybody who believes in it as fools.


On our way to the Ice Troll lodge, we get badgered by spirit badger.

Finally, the lodge.

This guy is playing darts. Let's badger him.

Crap, so he doesn't like me being rude. Ok, rewinding...

You can also solve this if you have a hight Spot skill instead of Spellcraft.

The lodge here is very Slavic, with real Slavic names for most of the members.

Jurak is the leader here.

Now let's do our first test, the Rite of Strength.

It's easy if you're a high STR based build. If you fail the first time, you can ask him to use his left hand which lowers the winning threshold somewhat. In MotB, unlike the OC, stat-boosting items don't stack and only raise your stats by a maximum of 3 or so. If you don't have a high base STR, you won't be able to win.


Second test: The Rite of Prowess.

I wanted to take a screenshot of the fight, but he literally died before I could move my finger to the screenshot key.

He died fast too. I won't be taking pics of the fights because they're so short, but you can look at the ledger (if you can read such small writing) to get the gist of each.

At least she lasted more than a round.

Next it's the big boss...

's turn to lose.

Now let's tackle the last of them: The Rite of Endurance. Key stat here is, of course, endurance.

OMG it's true - jacuzzi orgy!

The freezing water steals the breath from your lungs, and your gasps draw a chuckle from the assembled crowd. Your body begins shivering uncontrollably. Your shivering gets more pronounced, and your body is completely covered in goose bumps. You can't feel your feet anymore. A curiously warm feeling in your feet leads you to believe there is something seriously wrong with them. The warm feeling passes, to be replaced with needles of ice pearcing you in a hundred places at once. The shivering gets even worse, and you wonder for a moment what you're doing here before remembering you volunteered for this. You vaguely wonder if your skin was always this pale, and ovserve a blue tinge to it you've never noticed before. You stop shivering, and decide it's a sign that your body is giving up the fight against the cold. You can barely concentrate on anything for more than a few seconds. Strangely, you have an odd desire to lie down in the water. You can barely feel your own heartbeat. The room around you seems empty, and you wonder where everyone went. Suddenly, strong hands grasp you and you feel yourself lifted. You wonder momentarily what afterlife they will deposit you into when you are unceremoniously dumped onto a hard wooden floor.

Now that we're a member, we'll leave abruptly for the Shadow Plane. Why? I don't know. I don't know why I left without even talking to Jurak about my reward for being a member. But we'll return, anyway.


Now let's do one of the coolest quests in the game.

There's an open door in one of the houses in the Shadow Realm. I seems that some kind of wizard has been experimenting here, with disastrous results for himself.

The two death knights don't react to anything.

There are a few scrolls and books lying around the place.

As we approach the corpse here, we have a few choices each with their own consequences. I'll actually go through each result for this quest and take screenshots.

Now, if we choose the first option, the death knights jump in to protect their master. A fight ensues.

If we decide to choose the third option and release his soul from its predicament, Safiya helps out. Letting her do it raises influence.

The knights' work here is done and we gain points in Lawful Good. Not my style.

The final choice, and the one we'll be taking, is to complete the guy's ritual for him. This path involves spellcraft as well, so we get influence with Safiya for it.

And behold what rises from the wizard's lifeless body.

Creepy, eh?

We end up having to fight both the knights and this guy now, so we get more XP. Enjoy more bright spells.

And now, before the update is over, here's a cunning plan to get over one of Kaji's shortcomings. When he tries to pick the lock of that chest there, we see that he's just 2 points shy of being able to.

However, we know that lock-picking uses DEX as its bonus stat, so let's see if we can raise that using a scroll of Cat's Grace we have in our inventory.

Success! We find two good scrolls in there and a staff for Safyia.

See how she loves it?

Adorable. So, until next time...

 

[Nim]

There is another possibility. You have to find the Tome of Profane Rebirth in the Vault then his transformation will be successful and he won't attack.

Oh and great LP :D

 

[Reject_666_6]

Wow, I'm reloading this game and I'm doing that. Will post results soon.

 

[Satori (original)]

Aye great LP, appreciate the cropping of the text boxes and resizing of the screenshots, must be a bitch.

 

[deuxhero]

The test for the cold bath isn't based purely on endurance. It is a factor of a number of stats. A squishy warlock does well with it because anyone worth their solt resists cold a good ammount and won't take damage.

 

[Satori (original)]

My Chaotic Evil Sorceror failed the ice test but then he murdered the entire lodge so he was happy in the end.

 

[Reject_666_6]

The test for the cold bath isn't based purely on endurance. It is a factor of a number of stats. A squishy warlock does well with it because anyone worth their solt resists cold a good ammount and won't take damage.

When I played a rogue with endurance as a dump stat, I had him stay in the tub even though he would be dead after one more [Continue]. The last few comments were replaced by the last one in which he was pulled out from the pool, and Yulia still considered him as having passed the test.

I don't think it's possible to lose unless you have less endurance than 10 or something. If anybody with a low-endurance character has a save from before taking the test, I'd be curious if this works for them as well.

 

[Nim]

The tub test is not about Endurance but HPs ( and cold resistance ). My 14 End Monk with 251 HPs just lost the test, say if you want the save . Funnily enough 1 Hp more should be enough as from what I've read you get hit by 10x 25 damage.

 

[Trithne]

This LP almost makes me want to install NWN2 and find a copy of MotB to play it.

Almost.

 

[Gragt]

This LP almost makes me want to install NWN2 and find a copy of MotB to play it.

Almost.

If you haven't played it, just stop reading and do it, faggot. It has its flaws but you are denying yourself a great experience.

 

[Kthan75]

There is another possibility. You have to find the Tome of Profane Rebirth in the Vault then his transformation will be successful and he won't attack.

If I remember correctly, if you correctly perform the ritual but refuse to bow to him afterwards, he does attack, and you get more xp and a nice item, I think.
The fight is also more challenging.

Great job with the LP, keep it up.

 

[Reject_666_6]

Welcome back to another short update. Because I found out that there's another way of handling the Heliari quest, I reloaded from before I entered the house and I'm going to avoid it until I can find the Tome of Profane Rebirth. Normally, you'd find the book in Act 2 and use it to solve Yusef the ACOLYTE's quest to become a master of necromancy.

So, we're in the Shadow place now so let's explore the Vault a bit! Here's the Betrayer's Theme.

We never got around to examining the two mosaics and the black gate here last time, so let's do that now. The other mosaic has the same responses, so we'll just examine the first one.

A brief explanation for those who didn't play the OC: the Sword of Gith played an "important" part in the story. It was mostly a plot device, and it wasn't really that good a sword once you finally got your hands on it and it wasn't mandatory to actually equip, but nonetheless your character canonically used it in the fight against the King of Shadows. The mosaics depict the Betrayer's Crusade, the actual fighting that went on at the City of Judgement. Akachi's story is fascinating once you put all the pieces together. Where did he get such a multikult army? There will be hidden texts and characters in the game answering such details.

The gate. Safiya notices it's a second-rate piece of crap, and when you'll find out what the key is it'll seal the deal.

Now let's start exploring the rooms on the sides. The door immediately right of where we were is locked, so let's go left.

Every time you open a container and take its contents a wraith appears and attacks. This unleashes devastating high-level spells from my companions, which could be better-used elsewhere.

Don't ask why I made the font orange...

How often do you see gongs in RPGs?

We summoned Fu Manchu, played by Nicholas Cage. Actually, a bunch of spirits appeared in front of those big books.

How big are they?

Immense.

Does this scene remind you of anything?

I'm sure Jaime doesn't mind me pinching this screen.

What <s>Deionarra</s> Deiomidas is trying to say is that the souls in this room took part in the Crusade, and their eternal punishment is to act as scribes for the dead god of the dead's vault.

He fought the good fight for the Crusade. Well he tells you that anyway, so I'll shut up.

Once you finish talking with him, you can tell him to die. This prompts a badass response from him: "I think not, supplicant..." *vanishes* He never reappears again if you do that, so don't. If you have beaten Okku already, you have the option of devouring his spirit. However, I'll see if I can find some more interesting uses for spirit powers on him, like Eternal Rest or Devour Soul.

Now let's see what's over here.

Some angry death knights. I's amazing the lengths I'll go through in photo editing just because I forgot to take screenshots of their text boxes... They attack you, whatever you do, and they leave a key for you when they die. You can use that on the door to the right that was locked before.

There are lots of skeletons in this area and they all have some goodies on them.

By following the corridor, we find that thing that the loading screens here were talking about. It's a furnace, so this section must be the crematory. On the left and right sides there are skeletons lined up and they all have fire agates on them. This proves the Holocaust did 9/11.

The ashes falling like snow is a nice effect.

If you approach the mouth of the furnace, tonnes of undead spawn and attack. Those area spells that my companions tend to waste are really useful here.

Finish him!

Aww, he thinks we want to enter the furnace. Let's play along.

The priest seems to be in a position of power, but the child is the mastermind here. If we pretend we can't hear him, the conversation ends quickly. The game tempts you into choosing the skill check because you think it's better, but it is a lie.

ANYTHING BUT THE BRUTE! The priest speaks of him having killed the brute as if that's somehow worse than the brute having killed his family. The colons surrounding the brute's speech probably indicate snarls or something to that effect.

Why was he even so terrified of the brute in the first place is he's the ONE!!1

The priest starts giving us the silent treatment for some reason. We shall return when we can coerce his dead tongue a bit.

Here's our latest quest long and good night, folks!

 

[Vibalist]

Nice thread. Keep it going.

 

[Erebus]

Every time you open a container and take its contents a wraith appears and attacks. This unleashes devastating high-level spells from my companions, which could be better-used elsewhere.

You really should put them in puppet mode. The AI simply isn't smart enough to manage your spellcasters well.

 

[Reject_666_6]

Every time you open a container and take its contents a wraith appears and attacks. This unleashes devastating high-level spells from my companions, which could be better-used elsewhere.

You really should put them in puppet mode. The AI simply isn't smart enough to manage your spellcasters well.

I tweaked each of their AI behaviours enough so that they behave well in combat. The thing with area effect spell abuse is my only annoyance - if I'm fighting just two enemies, they'll use Delayed Blast Fireball instead of, say, Polar Ray. When they are fighting mobs, though, they handle themselves well.

 

[Reject_666_6]

Sorry about the lack of updates, but this week is full of midterms so I don't have time to edit all the screenshots. There should be an update on Saturday.

 

[Reject_666_6]

...and I'm back as scheduled (well, a week late, but technically I never specified which Saturday). In any case I have a full set of pics prepared, and the next update will mark the end of Act 1. Finally...

So, as we left off, we had some unfinished business in town. There are a few places we haven't visited yet. We still haven't entered the sloop, I can't remember if we talked with the Witches at their circle and we haven't collected our rewards at the lodge yet. We shall begin with the Sloop.

As you can see, it's shaped like a ship... a sloop to be precise.

After we enter, we are immediately approached by those two guys on the left on the image. Bastards don't like trannies, so they decided to pick on Kaelyn. Now, I know I've linked to this music before, but the Sloop must be experienced with the Sloop soundtrack.

Zorah, who interjects, is the WOMAN who's standing beside the door. She's the owner's wife, and she's very strict about not starting fights inside. But who cares about her opinion, amirite?

Real smooth.

Somehow, I think that the insulting nature of it all went over his head. His theories, however, are a solid contribution to the scientific community.

Did you hear that, Codex? He caters to the masses! :declineofthesloop:

No comment.

Ahh, why if it isn't the first human Rashemi we've encountered on this adventure.

No doubt a mature and gritty, next-gen performance.

Handsome?

I like how he goes into such detail describing the ghastly Thay-hate while Safiya is there, sweating bullets in that disguise of hers.

We don't fancy yer kind 'round here. *spit* Git 'em, boys!

Surprisingly, they DO attack you if you try to talk to them again.

Now, let's loot... I mean explore the rest of this dump.. I mean pile of dung.

All the doors have a very low DC and they're filled with random stuff and some gold. Except for one door, which is a bit harder to open. It contains... a shadow portal! Well, that and this crossbow with a suggestive name.

Pure poetry.

So, that portal leads us to a shadow version of the docks. In the distance, there seems to be a camp. If you remember from a few updates ago, Kaelyn mentioned seeing a campsite with a fire, indicating that whoever was there didn't belong in this realm. Let's investigate them a bit.

As the party approaches, a conversation starts. As far as I remember, they attack you regardless of what you pick, but if you choose to bluff them and succeed, you get some XP and a bit more insight as to the nature of our "friends" back in the Sloop.

This battle is probably the hardest in the game so far. The second-hardest is the one we fought in the witches' circle in the shadow realm, and the third is against those two Greater Shadows outside the Death God's vault. These three fights are actually harder than the fight with Okku we'll have soon. Moral: the best encounters in this game are optional. Now, I'll leave you with various spell effects.

Now you have to admit, that's a fuckload of buffs and enchantments. Our quest log got updated with some info on this because of the letter we found on this group's leader.

Time to pay a little visit.

If you choose to let him go, he flees town on the double and you just get some XP. Fighting him is the more evil option and, at the same time, lawful. Plus, this way you get to report him to the witches for more Rashemi street cred.

Sunburst.

Lightning Storm.

And fucking Meteor Storm. How so these spells even work in here? There's a roof! In the Worms games, they actually bothered to disallow airstrikes when in caverns. For shame...

C&C - pick a barbarian, and you have carte-blanche to brawl.

We still get kicked out, though.

Well, let's visit the witches now.

It's interesting that this is the first time in the game when our Barbarian background is acknowledged. As far as I know, Lore isn't a favoured skill by barbarians, so the devs actually took the time to write this line for multi-classed barbarians with high lore.

Well that's finally over. Now, it is the time for the longest section of text ever in this LP. These are the conversations with the party. So far, I've edited the pics of Gann and Safiya's conversations. Kaelyn's dialogue is as long as both of thse put together, so I cut it out of this update to save you the eyestrain of reading that much in a row.

Next update will cover Kaelyn, Kaji, the lodge and... Okku at last. Since there's no piece of the soundtrack long enough to cover this text, here's a long fusion instrumental to keep some kind of mood. There'll be no commentary from me on this, so it's exactly what's being said in the game and no more.

Ennh... yes, what do you want?

What's wrong?

The spirits... nnh... are restless. There's a legion waiting outside the gates, led by Old King Bear... he's awake... and not pleased about it. What did you take from him, anyway? I've never seen... or heard... such an uproar. I'm surprised the land isn't tearing itself apart.

Well, whatever angered him, I hope something can calm him down again. If his rage grows any more, then Mulsantir will be drowning in blood.

Any advice you have for beating him?

Well, our chances are not the best. In that, you can be assured I am speaking true. Still, we have one advantage - Okku's army.

What makes you say that?

The bear god came here with an army. Why? That army sustains his rage and his strength... they are like a drumbeat for his heart. Defeat them, then focus your attention on Okku, and you may very well survive the day. But I'm not making any promises, mind you.

How will I know when he's weak enough?

I will do what I can to let you know - listen for my voice over in the din of battle. Until you hear me call out, I would not attack Okku directly. Instead, do whatever you can to slow him down and keep him at arm's... paw's... length.

And if you fall?

Then use your best judgement. But if you've allowed me to fall, then clearly that is lacking.

Tell me a little about yourself.

A little? There is so much to tell, and to think you'd only want to hear the smallest bit of it - I am insulted.

All right - tell me a lot about yourself.

What, do you think I am some sort of long-winded braggart? My, your charm spells seem to be failing one by one.

I'd like to know who I'm travelling with.

Oh, well that is a different matter. I am Gannayev, Gann-of-Dreams, he who walks in the dreams of the people of Rashemen, especially the passionate dreams of farmers' daughters. I make deals with spirits, speak with the mountains and forests, and tell tales of old that bubble up from the brooks and streams of this land.

Were you born here?

Now there's a tale. Actually, I was born from no mother or father, but from dream itself. I was conceived as an idea, a stray thought, that had to fend for itself in this harsh land. It made me strong, capable... and ruggedly handsome.

You were... born from a dream.

Indeed, stepped fresh and whole from the sleeping minds of this great land, able to walk in and out of dreams at my whim and my will.

But you are a hagspawn.

Do I look like a hagspawn? Come now.

[Success] Very well, a game... now that interests me. And while I despise fairness, I must admit I am slightly curious about you.

I was born in a small town, West Harbour, on the Sword Coast. It bordered the Mere of Dead Men.

Hmm. Not as interesting as I'd hoped. Still... Very well. I was born in a city that lies beneath water... where this city is, I don not know. I see it sometimes in my dreams, but its location eludes me. As do the faces of my mother... and my father, if they existed at all.

I never know my mother, and my "father"... he was more of a guardian than a father.

[Influence Gain: Gann] Ah, an orphan. Intriguing. I shall raise you one better - I am an orphan as well. I do not know the fate of my father, but my mother - I believe her to be the one that cast me out.

How did you survive?

The animals of the world took me in - the dead shepherded the living. It mattered not to them. I learned their speech, their greeting and farewells, the cries of the wild and the whimperings of those lost. To some, it is a dirge, to me it is a symphony, and the stains are familiar ones that speak purer than any Rashemi word.

So you were left to wander the land?

There are worse fates. And the more I spoke, and bartered with the dead, the more the spirits would come to my aid. MY powers grew, and so did the tales of my travels - until every farmer in this dreaming nation held a blade close to their bed in case I should visit their daughters in the night.

Did you ever try to find your homeland?

No, because I dream of it - it is close, a place of night and flowing water through stones. I... feel its presence sometimes, but I do now know if I ever truly with to return. It cast me out once, and I do not think I would enjoy being treated the same way a second time. And... and I fear that my mother was not the ruling power there.

Can you tell me a little about your parents?

Oh, I can indeed tell you but a little, for little is all I knew of them. A human for a father, yes, a hag for a mother, yes, but who they were... that is not known to me.

Good riddance to them, then.

Now here's Safiya's dialogue.

Animal spirits have packs and pecking orders just as their mortal kin do. That bear we met was the pack leader of that barrow - a spirit noble, one could say. When we first met him, he was still half in hibernation. No doubt our battle roused him to full strength.

Our last battle 'roused' him? I recall defeating him rather soundly.

A spirit of his strength is nearly eternal. We did not kill him, only disrupted his form for a short while.

He must have a serious grudge against me to come this far.

According to the Witches, the bear spirit claims you defiled his sacred ground. Perhaps your presence there was enough to warrant his pursuit. But I think that... power... you used to destroy the spirit wolf has something to do with it.

I really need to find some answers as to why I'm here.

I agree. If we didn't have to stay here to pry some answers from Magda, I'd suggest that we slip past the spirit army and leave Mulsantir behind us.

Spoken like a true Red wizard - leave the locals to fend for themselves.

If that was possible, I'd have already tried. While I could best any of these witches, their collective skill is formidable. Moreover, I sense in them a talent for chicanery - theirs is an arcane art unknown to me. They have no doubt hidden the dwarf woman with powerful illusions - we are unlikely to find her unless the witches want her to be found.

So I take it you'll be heading home now?

Why? I promised to find you some answers - I can't leave yet.

What about those Red Wizards? They spoke of trouble at your academy.

[Influence: Success] Yes... I... fear the worst for the Academy... and my mother. To be honest... I... I've been half-tempted to make my way back home but... If my mother is... dead... then I'll be carrying out her last wishes. As long as you wish my aid, you have it.

You've made several promises on my behalf - I understand, and I appreciate your help.

[Influence Gain: Safiya] Thank you. My mother would not have requested I look afte you were it not Important to her. Then it's settled. Now... we should deal with that spirit army.

I've spent my life at the Academy of Shapers and Binders... studying magic for as long as I can remember. The Academy is far south of here. This is actually my first time beyond the lands of Thay - between my students and my own magical research, I have little time for travel.

Were you and your mother... close?

[Influence: Success] My mother is... was... the headmistress of the Academy of Shapers and Binders. She was a rather inconsistent parent... sometimes very protective and forgiving, other times strict and callous. I often felt like a valued possession, not a daughter.

With all the troubles at your academy, why are you here with me?

[Influence: Success] I made a promise to... Never mind, the promises are just a convenient excuse. I want to see you through to the end of this mystery. There are very few people in this world who I trust... and one of them mildly defies the definition of person...

For... whatever reason... I - I trust you. Whatever happened at the Academy is... probably over and... beyond my control. But you I ca help still.

I want to know more about the voices you're hearing.

[Influence: Success] For as long as I can remember I've heard whispers, words, shouts and mutterings - sometimes at a deafening pitch, sometimes so quiet I barely notice... but it's clear that I'm the only person hearing them. For a very, very long time I... I thought the voices were a sign that my mind was... peculiar at best and... fatally unhinged at worst. And before you ask - no, the voices have never taken control of me or forced me into action.

What do the voices usually say?

Most often - gibberish. Fragments of words... sentences so quiet they might as well be a mumble... Still, there is an occasional bit of... guidance - dissuading me from foolish mistakes, or warning me when an unscrupulous classmate is trying to deceive me.

What do you think is the cause of the voices.

I've tried every divining cantrip, every scrying spell in the Academy library, and they've told me nothing. The voices seem to be coming from both... within and without...

Thank you for telling me about these voices.

[Influence Gain: Safiya] Oh... well, usually people associate voices in one's head with raving lunacy. In other words, you're welcome.

That's all for now.