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Walkthrough

by ThunderZtorm2

Neverwinter Nights 2 - a walkthrough.

Walkthrough version: 1.00
Game Version: 1.010

Written by: Rune Hansen - [email protected]

If you wish to mail me with corrections/additions, please write nwn2 wt as
topic. I may not reply to your mail, but rest assured that I read them all.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Contents:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[i]    - Version History
[ii]   - Introduction
[iii]  - Legal Info
[iv]   - Other good guides
[v]    - Creating a main character
 [v-a] - Ability scores
 [v-b] - Skills
[vi]   - General Information, hints and tips
[vii]  - The Walkthrough
 Tutorial:
  [0.1]   - Tutorial
 Chapter 1:
  [1.1]   - The attack
  [1.2]   - The swamp, the ruins and the farewell
  [1.3]   - Weeping Willow Inn
  [1.4]   - Swamp Cave
  [1.5]   - Fort Locke
  [1.6]   - Graveyard
  [1.7]   - Bandit Camp
  [1.8]   - A new friend
  [1.9]   - Highcliff
  [1.10a] - Shandra's Farm and Highcliff Castle Ruins
  [1.10b] - Lizardfolk Cave
  [1.11]  - Neverwinter
  [1.12a] - Working for the City Watch
  [1.12b] - Working for the Thieve's Guild
  [1.13]  - The Skymirror
  [1.14]  - Old Owl Well
  [1.15]  - Bonegnasher Clan
  [1.16]  - Eyegouger Clan
  [1.17]  - Dwarven Scouts
  [1.18]  - The Sea Ghost
  [1.19]  - Githyanki Lair
  [1.20]  - Blacklake, Shandra and the Githyanki
  [1.21]  - Githyanki Base
 Chapter 2:
  [2.1]   - Introduction
  [2.2]   - Exploring Blacklake
  [2.3]   - Becoming a squire
  [2.4]   - Port Llast
  [2.5]   - Ember
  [2.6]   - Duskwood
  [2.7]   - The trial
  [2.8]   - Aldanon's Manse
  [2.9]   - The Tavorick Estate
  [2.10]  - Crossroad Keep
  [2.11]  - Stronghold part 1
  [2.12]  - The Ruins of Arvahn
  [2.13]  - Riverguard Keep
  [2.14]  - The Temple of Seasons
  [2.15]  - Gem Mine
  [2.16]  - The Song Portal
  [2.17]  - Stronghold part 2
  [2.18]  - Amon Jerro's Haven - Exterior
  [2.19]  - Amon Jerro's Haven - Interior
 Chapter 3:
  [3.1]   - Defending Neverwinter
  [3.2]   - Neverneath
  [3.3]   - Stronghold part 3
  [3.4]   - Merchant Quarter
  [3.5]   - Alliance: Wendersnaven
  [3.6]   - Alliance: Lizardmen
  [3.7]   - Alliance: Circle of the Mere
  [3.8]   - Alliance: Clan Ironfist
  [3.9]   - Loose Ends and Luskan Plots
  [3.10]  - Stronghold part 4
  [3.11]  - The Shadow Reaver
  [3.12]  - Reforging the Silver Sword
  [3.13]  - War!
  [3.14]  - Endgame
[viii] - Companion listing
[ix]   - History feats
[x]    - Easter Eggs/references
[xi]   - Planned additions to this walkthrough
[xii]  - Credits

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[i] - Version History
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

0.10 (December 26th 2006) - Completed up to part 1.10 of the walkthrough.
0.20 (December 29th 2006) - Finished Chapter 1, added a few things.
0.21 (December 29th 2006) - Released a proof-read version
0.30 (December 30th 2006) - Added parts 2.1 to 2.10 and section iv
0.35 (December 30th 2006) - Added evil path in parts 1.1 to 1.10.
0.40 (January 2nd 2007)   - Added some of the thieves guild missions.
0.41 (January 3rd 2007)   - Minor correction in part v-a.
0.42 (January 10th 2007)  - Minor additions to part 1.2
0.43 (January 17th 2007)  - Minor additions to parts 2.5 and 2.6
0.44 (January 31st 2007)  - Many hints from people added.
0.45 (June 29th 2007)     - Minor corrections and proof-readings.
0.46 (June 30th 2007)     - Various additions from e-mails + more proof-reading
0.47 (July 1st 2007)      - Even more proof-reading and minor corrections.
0.48 (August 1st 2007)    - Added two sidequests in 2.2
0.60 (March 1st 2008)     - Finished 2.11, added additions from e-mails.
0.70 (March 2nd 2008)     - Finished 2.12, 2.13, 2.14, 2.15, 2.16 and 2.17.
0.80 (March 5th 2008)     - Finished Chapter 2, added up to 3.10.
1.00 (March 6th 2008)     - Finished 3.11 to 3.14. Finally version 1.0.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ii] - Introduction
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This walkthrough is my second walkthrough ever. The first was a walkthrough for
the NWN expansion Hordes of the Underdark, a project that was unfortunately
never finished. I'm afraid the game lost me in chapter 3, and once I finally
decided to complete it, I had lost my old account information at gamefaqs.
I am not one for massive amounts of information about the game techniques and
rules. While I respect the authors adding such things, my primary focus has
always been on seeing all the content available to me in any given game, and
thus, my focus will be on the gameplay itself, and not so much the mechanics
surrounding it.
My hope is to, in time, compile a full list of alignment changes and influence
changes, but I must admit it will depend on how important these things are to
the game, and to anyone reading this.
The initial walkthrough is written while I'm playing through the game for the
first and second time, so bear with me if some information is lacking.
Eventually It'll be completed.
The initial walkthrough will not include quest names and rewards. I may add
this later, depending on how much time I have, and how much I enjoy writing this
little document. And, of course, how desired that info is.
Oh, by the way, I am from Denmark so please, do inform me if some of my English
seems confusing or hard to understand, since I may simply have made a bad
translation.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[iii] - Legal Info
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This document was written by Rune Hansen. Please do not post it, copy it
or any other of all those copyright thingies (bear with me here, you all
know what it's supposed to say, but legal english and me is not a good match).
Either way, if you really, really want to post this somewhere then just mail
me ([email protected]) and ask - as long as you don't change the
document, I'm fine with it. Really. I am.
Latest version of this walkthrough is available at www.gamefaqs.com

The following sites have my approval to host this walkthrough:
www.gamefaqs.com
www.cheatcc.com
www.cheathappens.com
www.supercheats.com
www.neoseeker.com
www.1up.com
www.mycheats.com
www.ggmania.com
www.cheatchannel.com
www.cheatbook.de

If you for some bizarre reason or other wish to translate it, again simply ask
for permission and I'll most likely give it :P

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[iv] - Other good guides
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While I admit that I always strive for perfection, I also admit that it's
foolish to do the same work twice. There are already some really excellent
in-depth FAQs on the web about this game:

Crafting Guide by Offkorn. Complete list of all recipes and some other handy
information for people enjoying the crafting part of the game:
http://db.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/neverwinter_nights_2_crafting.txt

Pickpocket Guide by Offkorn. Amazing list of what can be pickpocketed from
every NPC in the game:
http://db.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/neverwinter_nights_2_pickpocket.txt

Stronghold Guide by Paradox Jast aka xInfInIty:
http://db.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/neverwinter_nights_2_stronghold.txt

===============================================================================
[v] - Creating a main character
===============================================================================

I've found that it's insanely hard to stay on a neutral path during the game,
like neutral good or neutral evil. Nothing gives "neutral points" so you need
to either completely avoid chaotic/lawful choices, or balance them up.

One thing really worth noting: If your character has charisma as one of the
important abilities, you should remember that after the tutorial you get a
cloak that grants +1 charisma. It may not stick with you forever, but starting
out with 15 or 17 in CHA might not be a bad idea, especially if you could use
the point(s) elsewhere.

Regarding some insane powerbuilds, well, feel free to mail me with any
suggestions. Personally, I prefer builds with more than 20 levels, but seeing
as that's not possible in NWN2 (yet), I'm still struggling a bit. I've been
thinking about redoing my old fighter/mage/arcane archer build, but that one
only got truly powerful around level 25.

So far I've played the game with the following:
Aasimar Paladin (late act 2)
Human Fighter/Blackguard (early act 2)
Human Fighter/Bard/Red Dragon Disciple (completed)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[v-a] - Ability scores
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do note that bonuses do not stack. If you have the Gauntlets of Ironfist that
gives +3 STR and then cast Bull's Strenght, you'll only gain +1 STR by the
spell since the spell improves your base STR and not the STR you have after
item bonuses. Thanks to Nicholas Clarke for clarifying this for me.

Strenght (STR) - determines your attack bonus and how hard you hit with melee
weapons and how much you can carry. Main stat for all melee classes like
fighters, paladins and barbarians. STR bonuses differ from 1H to 2H weapons.
The damage bonus for 2H weapon is STR bonus * 1.5, while the attack bonus is
the same. If you have STR 24, that�s +7 to attack and + 11 damage per hit with
a 2H weapon. So, it pays to have your high STR character equipped with a
2H weapon; that plus haste will make short work of just about anything.

Dexterity (DEX) - determines your attack bonus with ranged weapons, as well as
being the main stat for a multitude of skills, primarily the rogueish ones.
With the feat weapon finesse, it also determines your attack bonus with melee
weapons. It also determines your base armor class, so even the toughest
fighters should have at least a +1 in it (since full plate still allows for +1
dex bonus to AC)

Constitution (CON) - Determines partially how many hit points your character
has. Basically the CON bonus is added to your class hit points each level,
meaning that a wizard with a +1 con would get 1d4+1 hp pr level, while a
paladin with +2 would get 1d10+2 pr level.

Intelligence (INT) - Main stat for Wizards, INT determines how many spells
wizards can cast of each level. It also determines how many skill points all
characters get pr level as well as being a primary stat for many skills. Your
own character should have at least 14 int due to the amount of skillpoints you
need.

Wisdom (WIS) - Especially important for clerics, druids and monks. While it for
clerics and druids determine the amount of spells you can cast, a high wisdom
score gives bonuses to armor class for monks.

Charisma (CHA) - Important for paladins and sorcerers, charisma determines a
lot of class-specific things for those classes. Seeing as several items boosts
your charisma, feel free to leave it very low if you're not a pally or sorc.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[v-b] - Skills
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Appraise (INT) - Used every time you trade with a merchant, a high appraise
skill gives you better prices for both buying and selling. A high appraise
skill also gives you the option of tithing your merchants with a hidden tax at
your keep. Note that you can buff your appraise skill by boosting the main stat
before talking to a vendor.

Bluff (CHA) - Used in loads of conversation options all through the game.

Concentration (CON) - Used every time a character gets hit while casting a spell
to check if the spell fails. Only important for spellcasters, really. Also this
is used every time you cast a spell defensively, which is advisable during
combat since it doesn�t provoke an attack of opportunity.

Craft Alchemy (INT) - Used to determine what sort of potions you can make as
well as what items you can get essences from. Not truly important to the main
character as you'll get companions better suited for this skill.

Craft Armor (INT) - Determines what armors you can make. Not important for your
character since you'll get companions better suited for it. On the other hand,
if you are a multiclass fighter, you might as well put ranks into it when
doing fighter levels, since they have very few class skills.

Craft Trap (INT) - Determines what traps you can make. Rather unimportant skill
overall. I never used a trap once in the entire game.

Craft Weapon (INT) - Determines what weapons you can make. Not important for
your character since you'll get companions better suited for it.

Diplomacy (CHA) - Used in a multitude of conversation options all through the
game. Most important for good characters.

Disable Device (INT) - Used to disable or recover traps. Only really needed on
locked chests since you wouldn't get all the loot otherwise. Due to the rather
open death and resting system, traps on the floor are largely ignored. You
could, if truly powergaming, recover the traps and sell them - but that would
mean you'll end up with loads of extra cash in the end, and nothing to spend
it on.

Heal (WIS) - Used to determine how well you can use a healing kit to remove
poisons, diseases and heal hit points. Thanks to the open resting system, this
skill is rather useless, especially for a class with remove disease/neutralize
poison spells.

Hide (DEX) - Used to determine how well you're hiding. To be frank, I haven't
really used stealth mode in the game thus far, so it's rather useless I'm 
afraid.

Intimidate (CHA) - Used in loads of conversation options all through the game.
Best conversation option for evil characters I'd guess.

Listen (WIS) - Used to detect stealthed enemies. You will encounter stealthed
enemies more than once in the game, so this skill is more useful than many
others.

Lore (INT) - Used to identify magic items. If you keep lore maxed, you'll be
able to identify most items you get during your travels. A high lore also
gives you a few dialogue options here and there.

Move Silently (DEX) - Together with hide, the basic skill for stealth mode. As
I have yet to use stealth, it feels rather useless to me.

Open Lock (DEX) - Determines how difficult locks you can open. If you can't
pick the lock, you have to bash it (or use the spell "knock"). Bashing makes
items break, however, so picking it is by far the best option.

Parry (DEX) - defensive combat mode. If you, like me, believe that offense is
the best defense, you won't use parry a lot, if ever.

Perform (CHA) - Only useable by bards, and also the single most important skill
for bards. Used to determine what kind of songs they can play and how well they
work.

Search (INT) - Used automatically when you look for traps, or whenever you put
your character in "search" mode.

Set Trap (DEX) - Used when you set traps. I've never set a trap in the game
yet, so can't say if it's truly useful.

Sleight of Hand (DEX) - Used to pickpocket people. Seeing that you can get a
lot of things by pickpocketing, I'm assuming this skill is much more useful
than a lot of the other rogue skills.

Spellcraft (INT) - Used to determine what spell the opponent spellcaster is
casting. Main skill for wizards and sorcerers, seeing as they need to know how
to counter the spells of enemy casters.

Spot (WIS) - Used to discover stealthed enemies. See listen.

Survival (WIS) - Used for tracking mode, with the right feat. I haven't used
that yet, but I guess it could be good to figure out what's ahead of you.

Taunt (CHA) - Actively used in combat to weaken the enemy. Might be good to
use on certain mobs, but mostly they die too fast for it to work properly.

Tumble (DEX) - rogue/monk skill. Used to avoid attacks of opportunity. Every
10 ranks in tumble also gives you +1 base armor class.

Use Magic Device (CHA) - Used to let rogues play around with magic items or
items with class/race/alignment restrictions.

In short, the most important skills in the game, at least from my experience,
are Diplomacy/Intimidate/Bluff, lore, the crafting skills and open lock.
I would highly suggest that your character keep at least one of the three
conversation skills maxed. It doesn't matter all that much which one, really,
but diplomacy is usually the "good" route, while intimidate is the "evil" route
and bluff the "chaotic" route.
The crafting skills can easily be handled by your companions, and Neeshka
handles the rogue-skills quite nicely (and she's completely neutral, which
means it matters little if your character is good or evil.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[v] - General Information, hints and tips
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Most dialogue has built-in alignment changes. Playing through the game once
will never show them all, so I'll add them as I discover them, basically.
A lot will be missing until the walkthrough has become an old document, so feel
free to mail me if you see any alignment changes I've missed.

I usually won't describe loot. Most of it seems randomly generated in any case.

As any RPG-player will tell you: SAVE OFTEN, and save in different slots. A
general rule of thumb is to save in a new slot every time you enter a new area.
I usually just use 3 or 4 slots in a rotation-basis so I have my last 3 or 4
saves ready in case I find out I did something really wrong ;)

To issue commands to your party, right-click and hold until you see a tab.
Then use the "broadcast command" option. Take some time to get to know these
options - you WILL need them.

During dialogue, always ask all the questions you can. Information is always
a good thing.

Remember to talk to your companions once in a while. Some have interesting
stories to tell.

When I write +1 chaotic or +1 evil that's the alignment change you'll receive
for saying/doing said thing.

When I write +5 INF, that means you gain 5 influence with the NPC I'm speaking
of. Influence is important if you want to hear all the stories your companions
have to say, and for some other things later on.

Save your cash. You will need a lot of cash (over half a million) later in the
game, so don't spend money unless the gear is a remarkable upgrade. In many
cases it's simply better to enchant your current gear, even if it means buying
some of the items needed for the enchant.

Note that you can�t enchant gear that has 3 attributes (ie flaming, cold, acid
damage).  Also note you can upgrade already enchanted weapons, but it doesn�t
stack (a +3 upgrade to a +2 is just +3, not +5).  Enchanting some of the loot
weapons is a good idea, since they have attributes you can�t currently make
(ie sleep, stun, etc.).  Also note that once you invest in enchanting, you�ll
want to stick with that weapon class, so build your character around the weapon
you want (or vice versa).  

The essences and jewels you need to make great equipment are rare, but become
more available in the late game. Take a look at the crafting guide from Offkorn
for a list of requirements.  Finally note that you�ll have two mages and two
priest type companions at the end (end of act 2), so you can make all the items
available.  The best weapons are holy, and require diamonds and inflict
critical wounds. Also the caster has to have craft magic arms & armor feat.
So think about your companions; do you want one to be in combat all the time,
or do you want them to craft?  Sand and Zhjaeve make decent crafters, so be
sure to choose the craft magic arms feat for them if desired (the latter is
the only companion who can make holy weapons).  

Keep the items you find that can be sold for a nice round figure like 5000 or
10.000. All merchants have a maximum amount they will buy any given item for
and in a lot of cases, a merchant that will buy for a higher amount is not
far away. If you have weight problems, buy a magic bag to keep the items in.

Since remains after dead enemies take a few seconds to show up, it's rather
easy to miss a few here and there, so make sure you get it all throughout the
game.

Remember you can not only disable traps, you can also recover them. A recovered
trap can be sold for cash, or put to use against your enemies by yourself.

Strangely enough, you can loot every container in the game without taking an
alignment hit, so feel free to grab everything even if you're a paladin.


===============================================================================
[vi] - The walkthrough
===============================================================================

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0.1] - Tutorial
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As most of it is well-explained in the pop-ups, I will only provide a few
general suggestions for this part of the game.

1) Take the Harvest Brawl last. That way you'll be level 2 when you encounter
the Mossfelds.
2) Make sure you win all four of the competitions, especially if you're a class
with focus on charisma. Quicksave before starting any of the competitions.
3) Accepting the wager with the Mossfelds will result in a +1 chaotic alignment
change, as well as -5 INF with Bevil (but who really cares, he won't be along
much longer anyways). Refusing the bet gives you +1 lawful and +5 INF instead.
4) Try to play the tutorial with different background feats, the conversations
will be a lot different depending on what background you've chosen.

===============================================================================
CHAPTER ONE
===============================================================================

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.1] - The Attack
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is where the actual game starts. You're being awakened in your sleep by
Bevil and Amie who tells you the town is under attack. Grab your gear in the
chest next to your bed, gear up and get your hotkeys sorted, especially that
cute Harvest Cup you won since it can cast cure light wounds twice a day. Also
enter your foster father's room and grab the amulet and the book.

Head downstairs and enter your very first real fight. 3 grey dwarves will break
the door and attack you. They shouldn't pose much of a threat. Remember to loot
the desk in the room as well as the remains before you exit. 

Exit the house. You'll be greeted by the town healer, Brother Merring, who will
bless you as well as tell you to get to the bridge and assist Georg. Kill any
Gray dwarf between you and the bridge and talk to Georg. He'll tell you to
rally the militia.

Talk to Ward Mossfeld and find out he's too wounded to fight on. Now you have a
choice, a choice that will be repeated when you find Wyn Mossfeld as well: 
GOOD PATH: Go talk to Merring again. He'll give you 4 swamp moss to use on
wounded soldiers. It won't heal them, but it will make the pain go away so they
can keep fighting. Talk to Ward again and tell him that you've brought some
herbs. Heal him up to get your first militiaman as well as +3 Good. Simply use
these herbs on the 2 other wounded militiamen you find.
EVIL PATH: Slit his throat for +3 evil. You lose the 50xp for rallying him to
the militia though.
CLASS-NOTE: As a paladin, you don't need the swamp moss at all, just use your
lay on hands ability in the dialogue.

Cross the bridge, get to Laszlo and help him get rid of his little attackers,
then head southeast to Ian Harman who's hiding near a house. Persuade him one
way or the other to join the fight as well. 3/5 done.
Move further along, and you'll intervene in a mage battle - seems the leader
of the attack is a githyanki. Amie will try to help her master, but dies,
leaving you with one less companion.

Search the area for any remains, attackers or militiamen. The house in the SE
corner has Pierson hiding in it. Enter however you can (pick the lock, bash
the door, persuade him to open, whichever suits your style). The "lie"
dialogue option gives you +1 chaotic.
Use the swamp moss Merring gave you (or any innate healing abilities like lay
on hands) to help any wounded harbormen you find. 
Make sure you also enter Tarmas' house and loot it for everything of value.
Note that even when you reach 5/5, the surplus militiamen will still net you
50xp each, so make sure you get all 8 rallied up ;)

Here's the full list of names of the militiamen:
Ward Mossfeld, Wyn Mossfeld, Laszlo, Ian Harman, Pierson, Webb Mossfeld,
"militiaman", Pitney Lannon.

Near a barn is a dying gray dwarf. By talking with him you'll get a little
information as well as a chance for an alignment change. Obviously, telling
him that you don't want to hurt him is +1 Good, while threatening to burn him
and then slit his throat is +2 Evil.

By the time you reach Georg's rallying point, you should be on 5/5 (or even
higher, actually). Talk to Georg and watch as more attackers arrive. Focus
on the bladelings first, then kill any remaining dwarves. After two waves
some will enter the Starling house, and Bevil will beg you to go inside to
help. Agree, enter, and get the dogs to help you clear out the place. Talk
to the kids. Tell them to "shut the door.." for +3 Good.
Exit and help the militia kill the remaining dwarves and bladelings and
watch as the cavalry arrives for the next wave. Well, a few elven archers
together with your foster father at least. Congratulations, you survived the
attack.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.2] - The swamp, the ruins and the farewell.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the cutscene and dialogue with your foster father and Bevil, you'll start
out here. In the middle of the swamp, close to the ruins you were told to go
to.
Follow the road toward the ruins, killing any lizardmen or beetles you meet.
You'll notice two ruins here. Ignore the one in the back for now, you won't be
able to open it. My gut tells me we'll need to return here later on though.

Enter the ruins - you need not pay too much attention to that elf in the
cutscene, you'll find out later. Clear the entire place before taking the
hallway that leads north. Remember to loot everything. You need cash, and all
that crap they got is exactly that - cash. Don't worry, you'll get to sell it
all soon. If you're starting to carry too much, offload some of it to Bevil.
Once you've cleared the entire area, go north. Clear the rooms to the sides,
then proceed north to the last door, defended by two lizardling guards.
Rest up if needed, then open the door and watch the cutscene.

With a succesful diplomacy check, you'll be able to get them to cooperate. They
will leave you alone, and you get 100xp for finding a peaceful solution. It's
less than what you would get for killing them all, and you'll miss out on a bit
of loot as well, so it's your call.
In any case, if you fail both the diplomacy and bluff checks, your only option
is to fight. Take down the shaman first, then kill the remaining lizardlings.
Make sure you loot everything before you open the chest. Open the chest, grab
the shard and select the "let's go" dialogue option to get auto-ported back to
your foster father. Ask him everything, and ask to talk to some people before
you leave. Most of the named NPCs will help you in some way.

Do note that what these people give you is very much dependent on what
background you chose. (Thanks to Darren Krommenhock for more details about
this).

Tarmas - You can get information from him, and buy/sell stuff to him. Sell all
the loot you found to get a nice amount of starting cash. He has little of
value to sell, however, especially for a fighter, so save the cash for a while.
A succesful diplomacy check makes him give you a potion of barkskin as well.

Bevil - You'll get a healer's kit +1 as well as any items you gave to Bevil
during your raid on the swamp ruins. A succesful diplomacy check also gives you
100g

Orlen - gives you a potion of cure moderate wounds. If you chose the farmer
background he'll give you an archer's belt.

Retta Starling - Gives you a quest to find out what happened to Lorne, Bevil's
brother who dissapeared during the war between Neverwinter and Luskan.

Georg - In most cases he gives you a light shield +1, but if you've chosen the
bully background, he'll just give you some advice, most of it useless.

Brother Merring - will heal any wounds you have. If you've picked the devoted
background, he gives you a crimson ring, otherwise he'll give you nothing.
(Thanks to Tony A for this addition).

Speak with your foster father again when you're ready, then head south to the
world map transition to continue your adventure.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.3] - Weeping Willow Inn
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first thing you'll notice here is a dwarf getting bullied by three humans.
Obviously the "good" choice is to help him out, so do so by helping him kill
the three bullies. Don't feel too bad, they did draw weapons on him after all.
Watch the cutscene and enjoy the ale until you get interrupted by some beings
that look very much like the ones who attacked West Harbor earlier. Clear the
place of those pesky duergar and bladelings.

A woman, Gera, will come down and ask for help:
"I'll take care of them" gives you +1 good as well as +1 INF with Khelgar.
"Let's talk price" gives you +1 chaotic.
Refusing, then tell Khelgar "all right, let's go" gives you +1 INF with him.

Go upstairs, clear the area of all the evil buggers and save the civilians.
Talk to Galen and learn whatever you can about the world. Ask for a reward from
him for +1 chaotic.
When you enter the room where Zachan is, kill the two bladelings, then talk to
him. Tell him:
"calm down.." for +1 good.
"answer some questions.." for +1 evil.
Ask for a reward, and he'll give you 25g. You can try intimidate and diplomacy
for more, but all that will give you is +1 evil each.

Remember to loot everything (bash the containers if you aren't a rogue, don't
worry, no alignment change in it).

Once the dust has settled, go back downstairs and talk to the barkeep. You can
ask for a reward from him for saving his inn to get 50g.
He'll also sell a wide selection of armors and weapons compared to what you've
seen before. Finally time to use some of that cash you've gotten. Do note
though, that once you reach Fort Locke you will be able to craft gear so it's
your choice really. Also note that you'll get a rogue companion at Fort Locke,
but her gear is not excactly impressive. Once you've geared yourself (and your
new dwarven companion) up, it's time to move on.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.4] - Swamp Cave
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Congratulations. Your first "optional" area. I'd do it in any case though,
there's some nice loot to be had as well as xp to be gained.
I guess if you really want to optimize it all, you could go to Fort Locke first
to grab Neeshka, and then go here. That way you'd be able to unlock all the
containers instead of bashing them. I haven't tested it though, so I'm not sure
what effect it would have on the Galen encounters. In any case, the loot gained
should be minimal since all the important items here won't be destroyed by
bashing.

When you arrive, you'll see some fighting a little way ahead of you. Seems the
merchant Galen is in trouble again. Help him out once more. Once the fight is
over, Khelgar and one of the guards will start getting mad at each other. If
you choose to stop it, you'll get -1 INF with Khelgar. If you're ready for the
fight as well, you'll get +1 INF instead. No alignment change.

Continue onwards, killing all the lizardmen you see. Also kill the spiders to
the right of the cave entrance. No loot, but they're XP.

Enter the cave. There's plenty of traps in here, but none of them are truly
dangerous. Kill everything, loot everything, until you reach a door.
Behind that door you'll encounter a lizardman chieftain together with a shaman
and a warrior. Take out the shaman first, then the warrior, then hammer down
the biggie. Remember to loot them all afterwards for a few magic items.
Both chests in the back of the room are trapped and locked.

Once everything's killed and looted, return outside and go back to the world
map transition. We're off to Fort Locke.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.5] - Fort Locke
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon arriving to Fort Locke, move straight out to the big green area, the
western edge of the map, basically. Clear out all the wolves there, including
the dire wolf and loot the corpse. It's not a quest, but it's XP and loot.

Move back to the road, then a bit forward and look to the left. You'll notice a
few people standing. My my, seems Galen's guards are rebelling. Go talk to them.
The dialogue option "I won't let you.." nets you +1 lawful. Kill them. After the
fight, the dialogue option "greed can overcome" nets you +1 good. The dialogue
option "Thank you, I accept" gives +1 good as well.
If you simply decide to kill them all, that'll give you +1 evil, and you'll of
course lose the chance of trading with Galen, ever. On the other hand, Galen
drops the rapier Namarra (Neversleep) +1. If you plan to focus on rapiers, it
may very well be worth taking the evil hit to get it. It can be upgraded with
enchants, and will as such be a pretty useful weapon all through the game.
NOTE: Grail Quest advices against killing Galen - the rapier's only unique
feature, the sleep on hit, only has a DC14, so by level 10 enemies will be more
or less immune to that effect. Galen also has some crafting components you might
find useful later on.

Continue on the road, past the wolves (remember to loot them as well), until you
encounter another group of bullies. Seems a few of the Fort Locke soldiers are
harrassing an, ehm, well, she's a tiefling. She has a bit of demon blood in her,
and because of that, the soldiers are assuming that she's part of that bandit 
gang that's been causing so many problems lately. If you try to help, they'll
decide to kill you as well, to get your loot as well as the bounty for 3
bandits. Kill them, and talk to the poor lass. The dialogue option "you don't
owe me anything.." nets you +1 good.
Accept her into your party even though Khelgar will complain a bit. You do need
a rogue. Go straight south and whack the wolves down there for some extra XP,
then head on into Fort Locke. Time to have a few chats, get some quests,
buy/sell and, if applicable, do some crafting.

Marshal Cormick - gives you the quest "Safer Travels".
Galen - The merchant you by now know so well. Sell any surplus loot to him.
Jacoby - Weapon merchant. He also sells loads of crafting molds.
Tor Millows - Gives you the quest "Tor's Holy Symbol". Asking for a reward
when getting the quest gives you +1 evil.
Liza - Gives you the quest "Bandit's Ransom"
Vallis Anton - Gives you the quest "Fort Locke Investigation". Asking for a
reward here will also net you +1 evil. 

When getting the quest "Bandit's Ransom", Neeshka will start talking of all
the loot there. If you tell her that's not the reason you're going, you'll
loose 1 INF with her. If you tell her to mark it so you can go loot the place,
you'll get +1 INF instead.

As you probably already noticed, you'll need to stay here for a bit, so get
to know the place. When you're ready, head north to the world map. You'll have
three new options. Bandit Camp (Neeshka showed you where it was), Highcliff and
the graveyard. Let's head out to the graveyard first. When you leave, you'll
again see a cutscene of an elf watching you. Don't worry about it, you'll find
out soon enough.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.6] - The Graveyard
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When leaving for the graveyard, you'll first encounter a group of bandits. Seem
they don't really know what they're doing, attacking a group of hardened
adventurers. A succesful diplomacy check makes them run away, and gives you
150xp. In the following chat with Khelgar, say "You'll have many more.." to
gain +1 INF with him. Remember to loot the chest before proceeding to the
graveyard.

At the graveyard you'll be greeted by a large group of skeletons and zombies.
Kill them all. Once the outside of the graveyard has been cleared, and the
three graves has been looted (no alignment change, surprisingly enough), enter
the crypt to the west.

Inside the crypt, watch out for traps while you kill your way through. Neeshka
is along for a reason, y'know. Take the north door first, then the south door
and finally the eastern door.
When you approach the statue in front of the last door, it will dissapear and
let a large group of zombies after you. You should be able to fight them off
without too much trouble, but if not, enter the room and use the lever inside.
That will prevent the zombies from attacking for a while, blinding them or
rebuking them in some way. Remember to loot the sarcophagus.

Move outside again, and take the crypt on the eastern side. This one is a lot
larger, open any door when you reach it, kill all the skeletons and zombies.
When you reach a square room with only one door to the north in it, stay alert.
There's a long hallway filled with traps on the other side. Best option will
probably be to let Neeshka stealth and enter alone to disable as many of them
she can before you enter yourself.
NOTE: Grail Quest says that Neeshka's stealth abilities may not be good enough
to do this - a potion of invisibility or similar might be needed, but then
again, it's only skellies after all ;)
There's also plenty of skeletons in the hallway, thankfully they trigger the
traps as well, so you shouldn't worry too much about them.

Before you proceed, remember to check the doors to the sides. Some are trapped
so Neeshka will definetly earn her place in the group in this creepy place.
Once you reach the southwest corner, you'll see two doors you can't open, and
one door to the south you'll have no problems opening. Prepare for a tough
fight before entering though. Inside is a shadow priest who'll raise a few
zombies to help him kill you. Take out the priest first, then clean up the
undead. Talk to the commander to find out that this fella wasn't working alone
and that there's still 3 soldiers down here somewhere. Use the lever to open 
the two doors you couldn't open before and continue onwards.

Take the northern door first, smash your way through the undead and enter the
room at the end to find the first soldier, Bruneil.

Go back, take the east door. Take the first door to the south after that to
find the second soldier, Garret. Clear the room of those ugly undead. Too bad
you're a bit late to save the bugger though.

Keep moving, watch for the trap at the crossroad. Take the south "arm" and
proceed through. Watch for traps in the final room. Seems the last soldier has
been kept safe. Move back to the cross and take the east route to get outside,
then return to Fort Locke.

When you return to Fort Locke with the Commander, Vallis will have a little
surprise for you. Seems the fella got a taste for commanding and has started
a little coup. During the conversation, tell Vallis:
"you got your orders. It is your duty.." for +1 lawful.
"if you wanted me to kill him.." for +1 evil.
Kill him, and watch the Commander run towards the Fort. Remember to loot the
remains.

Once you return to the Fort, Commander Tann is in full control and will give
you a warm thanks, as well as tell you that there's still a bandit threat.
Speak to Cormick again for a little XP bonus, and check the new store at Jacoby
before you move out to the bandits.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.7] - Bandit Camp
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Get ready for a big battle. Enter the camp and start slaughtering those bandits
like no tomorrow. Once the area is clean of bandits and loot alike, go to the
prisoner pen. They'll ask you to get them out of there fast, but while you're
talking, you'll be discovered. Kill all the newly arrived bandits and lead the
poor hostages outside the camp. They'll tell you to meet them in Fort Locke. Ask
for a reward to get +1 evil.
Of course they don't thank Neeshka, so in the following conversation, tell her
"you have my thanks.." for +1 INF.

Do note that if you simply clear the outside and enter the house before freeing
the prisoners, you'll avoid the second group of bandits outside if you convince
the bandit chief to cooperate.

Return to the camp and enter the house. Whack any bandit you see, check all the
rooms. The room in the middle, with a wizard in it, also has Tor's symbol in a
chest. Do remember to check for traps all over the place, yet again Neeshka is
an important asset to your team.

Once you reach the last room you'll notice that the bandit chief doesn't attack
you automatically. He's given up, basically. You came to free the prisoners,
find Tor's Symbol and stop the bandit threat and he claims you've done all of
them already. If you tell him you came to collect the bounty on his head, you
won't be able to get him to surrender, you have to fight him and his group.
Ask him to "surrender to the soldiers.." for +3 lawful. A good intimidate or
diplomacy check persuades him to give himself up to the Fort authorities and
become militiamen instead of bandits. After that check, tell him "The Commander
of Fort Locke owes me a favor" for +1 good. 
Remember to loot the containers around him before you leave, he won't mind.

Return to Fort Locke and speak with Tor, Liza (if you refuse the reward you'll
get +1 good, and if you complain about the size of it, you'll get +1 evil) and
Commander Tann. If you made the bandit leader surrender, Tann will tell you that
they've already been put to work. If you killed him, he'll just say the bandit
threat seems to be over.

Sell surplus gear, craft whatever you can/want and say goodbye to Fort Locke
and it's surroundings for now. We're off to Highcliff.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.8] - A new friend
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the way to Highcliff, you'll be stopped by yet another group of duergar and
bladelings. This time, however, an elven druid will help you. Seems she's been
following you for a while and has now decided to come to your aid. She tells of
a hidden route to Highcliff. Agree to have her tag along, and follow her to the
glade. When you arrive there something seems wrong though. The animals are
supposed to be friendly, but instead they attack.
Say "i would prefer to leave here without more bloodshed" for +1 INF with
Elanee.
Say "If any animal comes my way I'll cut 'em down" for +1 INF with Khelgar.

Proceed forward, killing the animals as they attack. When you reach the corpses
of 3 wolves, Elanee will ask you to investigate the matter. Agree for a +1 INF
with Elanee. Say that you just want to get to Highcliff for +1 INF with Neeshka
and -1 INF with Elanee. Continue forward, killing what needs to be killed. Once
you spot the huge enraged bear, make sure you clear everything else first.
Rest up, check Elanee's spell list and get ready for a fight.
Defeat the huge bear, only to learn it was Kaleil, a druid from the Mere. He
tells how the Mere had corrupted him with thoughts of shadows and blood.

Nothing more to do here but to give Kaleil's corpse a final farewell so head
out toward Highcliff - hopefully without any more of Elanee's clever shortcuts.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.9] - Highcliff
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you thought things would be smooth sailing from here, think again. Nothing's
sailing in or out of Highcliff due to lizardfolk these days. The cutscene will
explain better than words I believe. Also, speak to Grishnak to find out more
about what's going on in the place.

Guess you just found your new quest hub: Highcliff.

Enter the actual city. Notice that group of sailors a bit ahead? Move toward
them and, obviously, they will start commenting your strange group. Now, here's
your first real influence choice. If you start the fight yourself, you gain +2
inf with Khelgar but -1 inf with Elanee. If you try to avoid it, however, you
will get +1 INF with Elanee but -1 INF with Khelgar - and since the dwarf can't
keep his mouth shut, the poor sailors will die anyways.

Head on to the southern end of the town, to Branson Marlek, the city's
self-proclaimed best merchant. He does have a couple of nice things, so feel
free to browse his goods.

Cross the street to Gera and Zachan, the couple you helped back at the
Weeping Willow. Seems their son's gone missing in some ruins outside of town.
Agree to help them, Neeshka will complain about it. If you tell her it's
because you have to help you get -1 INF, but +1 INF with Elanee. If you tell
her that you're doing it for the reward, you get +1 INF with Neeshka, but -1
INF with Elanee.

Head on up to Par's house. The poor man seems to have unwelcome visitors, so go
inside for a wee look. Seems a few sailors have gotten bored and decided to
start a new line of business. Take care of them, and loot the place if you wish
then return to Par for your reward, a few potions and some XP.

Move over to Edario and see what he can make. He's an armorsmith, and will most
likely have a few nice upgrades for you and your companions.

Now go across the street and have a word with Captain Flinn - he'll send you to
the village elder, so head on up there and have a word with him as well. After
some friendly chatter, you'll end up with the quest "ship sabotage".

Go over to Juni, the lady who was talking to the Elder when you arrived, and
have a chat with her to get another quest, "William's fate".

Move to the north gate and have a chat with Mozah. Seems you're not the first
group of brave adventurers to arrive here.

Head out the north gate and move to Shandra's farm.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.10a] - Shandra's Farm and the Highcliff Castle ruins
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When you enter the farm area, prepare for a long chat. Start by being truthful,
then ask her all the questions you can. After a while, a few lizardfolk will
arrive, setting fire to her barn (and her entire harvest), leaving her rather
unfriendly toward you. Move out to the ruins.

Upon arriving to the ruins, move on forward, get off the road to the right
when you can. You'll notice a small camp, and William, the lost husband. Seems
the poor man would rather stay lost, and begs you to lie to Juni when you
return to Highcliff. If your diplomacy check fails, you won't be able to get
him to return on his own.

Return to the road, clear the western side until you locate Alex and Andrew,
the two lost kids. Seems they ran into a tiny wolf problem, so whack the wolves
and talk to the children.

Inside the castle ruin, you'll see a lizard, Slaan, fighting a few zombies.
Help him out, then talk to him. Seems his tribe is the one attacking the boats
and that a group of 'em are now trapped below, with the undead. Tell him you'll
help him get his clansmen out of the castle if he will take you to his chief
afterwards. He will join your party and assist you all through the coming
dungeon.
If you simply kill him, you will find a map on him that gives you the location
of the lizardfolk lair. Killing him also nets you +3 chaotic.

Once inside, start out by clearing every room of zombies until you reach the
spot where a cutscene reveals yet another of those shadowpriests you killed one
of at Fort Locke. Seems their commander is called Black Garius. Interesting.
Of course, they'll spot you, so better be prepared for a fight. This fella is
a tad tougher than the priest you hammered back at the Fort, but die he must.

Loot his remains as well as the remains of his servants and the chest behind
him for Mozah's Backpay as well as the shadow priest journal and a stack of
shinies. Return to the main hallway and go eastwards first, clearing the area
of any undead still, ehm, standing up.
Once you reach the northernmost room (a locked one), you'll find Slaan missing
friends. They're not too happy to see you, and not at all when they learn that
Slaan has made a deal with you. They're sure you will kill the chieftain.
Ignore them and say you're ready to go see the big boss. If you killed Slaan,
you'll have to kill these ones as well, then leave the place and head for the
lizardfolk cave yourself (continue in 1.10b from here)

You'll be auto-ported to the lizardfolk chieftain. Have a few words with him,
make your deal. Now we only need to convince the village Elder that this, hmm,
arrangement, is the best way to handle this whole matter.

You'll get auto-ported back to Highcliff. Talk to Mozah and finish off that
quest, then go convince the Elder that your way is the best way, well, the 
only way. You'll get auto-ported to the harbor. Finish off any loose ends with
Zachan and Gera as well as Juni, then talk to the Elder. Enjoy the boat trip
- and the cutscenes.
If you lie to Mozah or Juni, you'll get +1 chaotic for each time. When Gera
gives you the amulet for saving her son, say "is that all?" for +3 evil. When
the elder gives you your reward, again say "that's all?" for +3 evil.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.10b] - Lizardfolk Cave
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You won't ever go here unless you kill Slaan instead of letting him help you.

Kill your way through the lizardmen until you reach the cave entrance. Enter.
When you look at the map, you'll see where the chieftain's room is. We'll take
that room last, simply because there's loads of other lizardmen to killand
containers to loot. Clear the place out, then proceed to the bossman's room.
Kill the shaman first, then destroy the warriors and finally the boss himself.
Remember to loot the little room to the east, that's the treasury after all.
Once everything's looted, head out the door in the northwest corner of the
chieftain's room, then head back to Highcliff.

Hand in the quests (see 1.10a for alignment options) and head out for the
glorius city of Neverwinter.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.11] - Neverwinter
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, this is the big city of Neverwinter. You'll have a few map pins to tell you
of certain points of interest, but it's really your call where to go first. I'd
head off to that uncle's tavern, the Sunken Flagon, first though.

Enter the tavern and start talking with your uncle. Soon enough, the wizard,
Sand, will enter as well. After a long chat, you'll end up with a choice.
Either you go to Cormick, join the city guard and enter Blacklake that way, or
you find the thieves guild and work your way into Blacklake with their help.
Whichever way you go, consider this inn your base of operations from now on.

Whether you do all of this exploring first, or go straight to working for one
of the groups is basically your choice. Do consider that you in your third task
for the city watch and the thieves get a new party member, the sorceress Qara.
She might be quite useful when dealing with the sidequests in Neverwinter, but
it's really your choice.
If you want Qara first, feel free to jump to the relevant "working for.."
section and return here when you got her.

Leave the Sunken Flagon, and make a visit to the two outdoor salesmen - an
armorer and a weaponsmith. You'll get ambushed by 4 bladelings near the
weaponsmith, but I doubt those fellas will cause you any problems by now. You
should be a group of well-geared level 7s after all.

Head out toward the merchant district by going north around the city watch
building. You'll encounter someone Neeshka knows. Seems there's a bounty out
on our little tiefling. Deal with Bennon whichever way you want, you will
eventually have to kill him and his thugs.

Head on out to the merchant district. Guess what? Another group of thugs who
want to collect the bounty on Neeshka's horns. Yup, not her head, her horns.
Yet again, there's no peaceful solution, so handle it however you see fit, and
listen to Neeshka's solution to the problem afterwards. Seems you'll need to
take care of that Leldon fella one way or another in any case. Neeshka will
inform you that the next step should be to visit Ophala in the Moonstone Mask.

Take the first road south though, there's another old Neverwinter character we
should meet first. Head down to Deekin's little hideout. If you've played the
two expansions to the old Neverwinter Nights, you'd know that Deekin is, well,
a kobold with a deep love for adventuring. Especially writing down the tales of
all the magnificent things your character did in those two games.
While Deekin will tell you a lot of funny things, he's also looking for a real
house to set up shop. Let's keep that in mind. You can buy some very special
armors from him, armors designed for the prestige classes of NWN2, as well as
a few other spiffy things.

Move on, past the Moonstone Mask to find Pap's. He's a merchant specializing
in crafting materials. Nice to know where he is, especially if you intend to
enchant items later on.

A bit north past Pap's you'll see a little girl being accused of stealing.
Handle this situation however you see fit. You'll need to help the kid if you
want to enlist Wolf's help later on (not that he'll help an awful lot, just
some random messenger stuff, at least until chapter 2).

Return back south and enter the Temple of Tyr. Time to find out whether that
crazed dwarf can actually get his wish. Seems the poor fella has a long way to
go. Three trials await Khelgar in the future, one of which requires you to
gain plenty of influence with him. Check out the NPC list in the appendix for
more info about these quests.

You can also get a little sidequest in the temple. Enter the left door and
talk to Judge Oleff. Seems one of his priests has gone missing in a place
called Tomb of the Betrayers. Neeshka will be drooling over the prospect of
getting into it. You can convince her not to steal stuff if you tell her that
you wouldn't want anyone to rob her crypt once she's dead. That line will also
give you +1 INF with her.

In any case, head out to that Tomb thingy - if you're a paladin or cleric I bet
you already got one finger on your turn undead hotkey. Keep 'em there ;)

Enter the tomb, watch out for traps. Go left first, opening the doors as they
come. The second room you'll enter is a room with a lever and a block. Notice
the marked areas on the floor? Fireballs will come out and hurt you if that
block isn't, heh, blocking them. Now, the trick is to order your party to
"stand your ground" while Neeshka heads off. Let one pull the lever, then move
out. Of course, Neeshka's evasion and the resting system makes the whole
puzzle thing rather pointless, so feel free to just run over them without
bothering with the lever.
Off to the next interesting room - and whaddya know, it's another trap room
*gasp*. The room in the SW corner should be taken care of much like the
previous room. Broadcast a stand your ground and let Neeska run like hell.
Continue past the two doors in the central south section for now - we'll take
them later. Let's clear out the eastern side of this place first.
Now, the southeastern room is a wee strange. First, you need to lure those
shadows inside out. Notice how they get hurt every time they step on a
specific part of the floor? Once all the shadows are dead, take over Neeshka,
broadcast a stand your ground and run to the trapped chest, avoiding the
pressure plates.
The northeastern room is another tricky one. You need to keep one member of
your party on the pressure plate constantly in order to keep the door open
and let Neeshka get to the chest.
The remaining rooms, except the two in the central south area, all have some
form of undead monsters, so make sure you clear those as well. It's free XP
after all.
Once everything's cleared, head down to the southern rooms we passed before.
Take the southern door first to reach the missing priest. You'll soon learn
that a powerful traitor has risen from the dead and has taken control of the
tomb. Hmm, seems the undead are rising all over the place these days, wonder
if there is a connection, eh?
Any case, buff up and head through the door to the north to locate this big
traitor-undead-fella.
Guess what? It's Fenthich, Lady Aribeth's lover from the original NWN. You
remember the man that got hanged for treason, aye? Now, it seems to be a wee
buggy here. In my case, Fenthick simply attacked me. Or, well, he ran around
like the Duracell bunny rather. Use your ranged weapons and spells if you have
such things to your disposal, otherwise this'll be a long fight.
Once he's dead, pull the lever to open the door to the outside again, then go
fetch the poor priest and lead him safely outside. Since you've already cleared
the place, that shouldn't be a problem. Return to Oleff to get your reward.

Now off for the Moonstone Mask. Speak with Ophala to learn where Leldon is, and
that he's prepared for Neeshka's return with certain magics as well as dogs.
Since his home is in this quarter, let's go there right away, there's not much
else to do right now anyway.

There's two ways of handling Leldon's hideout. The stealth way, or the direct
approach. The stealth way lets you enter, sneak in, grab the coin and leave,
while the direct approach ends up with you fighting Leldon a bit sooner than
the storyline expects. You'll miss out on a tiny bit of story about Neeshka,
but you'll get the whole thing over with faster. Again, your choice.

Leldon's hideout is right next to the entrance to Blacklake district, so go
there, and hop inside. Proceed forward and enter the door to the right. You
were told he was prepared for Neeshka, so assume there's a trap wherever one
can be placed.
These thugs in here are quite strong and hit quite hard, so be prepared for a
relatively tough battle if you do the direct approach.
Continue through the door to the north. Whack any thugs you encounter, and
stay alert about those traps. Continue through the building until you reach
the treasure room.
Doing the direct approach, you'll fight Leldon here, before you get the magic
coin. He'll use a smoke potion to get away when he gets hurt badly enough.
After that, feel free to grab all the loot in the "cage", even Leldon's lucky
coin.
If you did this the stealthy way and you helped the two kids during the chapter
you'll soon get a message that Leldon awaits you in the park. Go there. You'll
end up fighting him and he'll use the smoke bomb, much like in the direct
approach.
(Stealth approach info from Alex Karabis)

Return to the docks district. It's time to choose a side - to work for the city
watch, or to work for Moire and her thugs.
Note that working for the watch or the thieves is more than just a moral
choice. Working for the thieves is the ONLY way to unlock the shadow thief
prestige class, while the Neverwinter Nine class will be open to both paths.
Also, the thieves will only automatically net you +1 evil - the rest is
dependent on how you solve the tasks given to you.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.12a] - Working for the City Watch
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Head to the city watch building, go inside, and speak with Cormick. You'll be
assigned to duty on the double - seems a merchant has a few problems you need
to handle, so better head out. Remember to put on your new shiny cloak.

Notice the alley-looking thing just west of the city watch, basically between
you and the shop you need to get to? Go there, and have a word with the wolf.
Seems he's yet another druid who can't get out of his wildform. He'll
eventually tell you that you need to visit the Skymirror. This is part of
Elanee's quest line.

Once inside the shop, have a little chat with both Reesa and Hagen as well as
the four thugs showing up a wee later. Kill all four of them and return to
Cormick.

Cormick's next job is to head out and get a hold of the person behind these
extortions, Caleb, so go have a word with this entrepeneuring thug. Caleb is
not exactly a clever thug. Unlike the bandit leader back at Fort Locke, he
doesn't realize just who he's up against. So, after a few insults, he'll resort
to attacking you. Kill him and his two friends and return to Cormick.

The third task is a wee bit larger - make a full sweep through the district,
killing any criminal you see, and check up on the watch posts as well.
To complete the quest, you need to visit the four City Watch sergeants in the
district. Kill any thugs you encounter on your route as well. Hey, it's a few
less troops for Moire, right?

During your sweep head on around the Sunken Flagon. Seems a few magelings are
about to start a little brawl - and we all know how bad it can get when mages
go on a rampage, so you better stop them before they really start.
You'll end up with a new party member as well, the sorcerer Qara. Feel free to
enter the Flagon and have a word or two with her, as well as check out her gear
and so forth.

Do note that the first two times you leave the Sunken Flagon with her in the
group, you will be attacked by academy students who in no way enjoyed that she
managed to survive the first "duel" with the two magelings. They will attack
no matter what you do. Fortunately, they're fairly weak. At the second attack,
the attack will stop once the leader is killed - so if you have problems it
might be best to simply focus on her.

You can't do anything special at post number 1, so just move on, killing thugs
as they come.
At post number 2, the one right beside Sand's shop, you can choose to start
accepting bribes, simply say no to it, or threaten to report the sergeant.
Needless to say, the last option gives you +lawful. And makes the sergeant and
his 3 friends attack you, forcing you to kill off four guards. Handle the
situation however you see fit.
At post 3, just a wee north from the second one, you'll encounter a group of
thugs trying to bribe the guardsmen. Again, handle the situation however you
see fit.
Just south of post 4, you'll encounter Trent, a fella who enjoys his drinks.
Convince him to take his drinking inside for a little XP, then continue to
post 4. This sergeant is also corrupted, but you're able to save him. With a
few good checks, you'll turn him into a double-agent. How clever!
Just north of post 4, you'll see a few people with a wagon. Go
investigate. Seems these fellas are carrying their loot from a burglary. How
interesting. Handle this situation as you see fit, but do note that taking
the loot after killing them will give you +1 chaotic.

Once you complete your sweep, return to the city watch to see it set on fire.
You'll be informed that Cormick has gone to the merchant district to talk to
the commander. I suggest you head on out to meet him there.

Before you head out completely, turn south at the exit and notice the little
merchant getting bullied by a group of Moire's gang. Sort it out and you'll
have one more tradesman to go to.

Enter the City Watch building in the merchant district and talk with the
commander. Seems her lieutenant, the leader of the docks district got killed
during the fire, and she wants YOU to take his place. Your primary assignment
will be killing off the smuggling operations, but Cormick would love to root
out a few of the turncoats in the city watch as well.

Right then - time to put hard to hard and assault those thieves where it hurts
them the most. Off to the dock district and into the Back Alley we go!

Right before the Back Alley, you'll see a thug trying to extort Wolf, the
leader of the thief kids. Again, up to you how to handle it, but I'd help
Wolf, simply because he'll help you out a bit later.

Upon entering Back Alley, you'll see a few guards taking a bribe. A good
diplomacy or intimidate check will give you a peaceful solution, otherwise
you will have to kill a few of your own troops.
Continue forward, clearing the place of thugs as you go. You'll soon see a
rather large group of watchmen and thugs hanging out together, and your party
will start wondering how to even the odds a bit. If you have Qara or Neeshka
along, you can send off one of them to start a small fire, making the watch go
to turn it out and leaving the thugs alone for you to deal with. When the thugs
are dead, go deal with the watchmen. Leave none alive.
Moving on, you'll see another group of thugs just ahead. This group is bent on
stopping the shipment as well. They don't want a war. You can either enlist
them as helpers, or use diplomacy to get them out of harm's way. Your call.
After one more group of thugs, you'll see the shipment. Guarded by gangmembers
and city watchmen alike.
No matter what you say, the guards will attack you. If you have Qara along, a
well-placed fireball will take care of those traitors.
After killing the remainders, a little discussion ensues. Neeshka would prefer
to sell off the weapons for our own gain, while Khelgar feels duty-bound.
Pick a side, but note that you will lose/gain 1 INF depending on which side
you go with. Meaning, siding with Khelgar and handing in all the weapons nets
you +1 INF with him while you lose -1 INF with Neeshka. Remember though, you
need influence with Khelgar if he is ever to fulfill his dream and become a
monk.

If you side with Khelgar, you'll get auto-ported to the city watch post in the
merchant quarter. Report your progress to your commander and Cormick, and they
will have a new assignment for you. Now it's time to hit the destination of the
shipment, so head outside, head to the park and enter the warehouse.

Move forward, killing off thugs as you go. Once you reach the documents, kill
the named guard. Upon grabbing the documents, you'll have the option of
letting Neeshka search the place. It gives a +1 chaotic hit, but it's worth
it, trust me. She finds a magic item that I believe is different based on your
character as well as a rogue dagger for herself. My Fighter/RDD got the
greatsword Shining Light of Lathander for example.
Also, allowing Neeshka to take her picks gives +1 INF - Khelgar will complain
but say "you're right" to him for +1 INF with him as well.
She will be hiding something for herself as well, but unless you take a good
skill check, you'll lose INF with her if you try to get it. It's just a bit 
of extra vendor loot anyways, so no big deal :)

Upon leaving the warehouse, you'll meet the famed Neverwinter Nine, preparing
to assault the warehouse. When you tell them you've already done that, you can
send them off to the Sunken Flagon for a little R&R. Hope they drink enough to
cover the rather large tab Khelgar has been keeping ;)

If you thought the job was done now, think again. Apparently one of the most
important informants has had his cover blown, and guess who's going to have to
run off to make sure he stays alive. Yep, you. The captain says "make haste"
so let's move out immediately.

Head out to Fihelis' estate only to find out that you're too late. Thugs have
already entered. Brace for combat - clear out the place. All the thugs here
are stealthers by the way. Seems the assassins are having a good time. Once it
seems all the baddies are dead, head on up to the 2nd floor. Guess we won't be
done so easily. Oh, do remember to loot everything, no alignment hit for it.
More stealthers hiding out on the 2nd floor. Clear the rooms one by one, kill
them all. 
Once you reach the final room, and the only closed door, prepare for a tough
fight. Buff up, get ready, and open the door.
Moire herself has arrived to finish off the traitor. Of course, once you
arrive, she decides you will be a much better victim and attacks you, no matter
what you say. Kill her any way you can, then talk to the poor Fihelis.

While the next mission is also for the city watch, it's not inside Neverwinter.
With Moire out of the game, Captain Brelaina believes there's surplus to handle
some affairs outside of the city walls. It seems an emissary from Waterdeep has
gone missing and of course your Cap'n fears the worst. You're to leave for Old
Owl Well and find out what has happened to the emissary.

First, however, it's time to do some trading. Sell all the loot you've found
during your latest missions and make sure your entire party is geared up.
We're going to take a brief stop at the Skymirror for Elanee before we head to
Old Owl Well by the way, so make sure she's in your party when you leave
Neverwinter. (There's apparently some bugs if you arrive to Skymirror without
Elanee, so let's do this the safe way, shall we?)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.12b] - Working for the Thieves Guild.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Even if you decide to work for Moire, you'd still want to pay a visit to the
City Watch building, only to get your reward from Cormick. Hey, it's 300g just
for going there.

Head out to Caleb to get your first mission for the thieve's guild. Seems a
merchant is refusing to pay his protection money. Time to show just why he has
to pay that cash. Head out to Hagen's shop. Threaten him in whatever way you
like, he'll eventually give in and give you the money.
When you return to Caleb, however, Hagen and 4 members of the City Watch will
arrive, wanting to arrest you. You can either bribe or fightyour way out of it,
but Caleb will tell you to go to Moire for more jobs since he needs to lay low
for a while.

Head on up to Moire's hideout in the north of the district. After a bit of
debate, Moire tells you that she wants you to do a sweep of the district. She
wants you to "turn" the four City Watch sergeants to her side, and if that's
not possible, kill them. Head on out and start the sweep. You'll encounter
several groups of thugs on your way, all of which are from rival gangs, so feel
free to kill them all.

Now, your primary mission is to visit the 4 sergeants, but there's also other
things to do, so let's take it all in proper order.
Right after leaving Moire's hideout, head straight west. You'll soon see a
group of men pushing a wagon. Go have a word with these fellas. Seems that no
matter what you say, you'll eventually have to kill them. If you tell them
"nothing moves without Moires permission" you'll get +1 lawful. Remember to
loot the wagon when they're dead.
Head back west to the guardpost right behind you. With a good diplomacy or
intimidate check, you'll convince him that taking the bribe is the best way to
go.
In the southeastern corner, you'll find Reylene. After a rather funny dialogue
she'll realize that you're asking for protection money and give you 100g as
well as promise to tell other merchants that you're a very dangerous person to
cross.
Head all the way west, to the docks, then south. You'll see the second
guardpost is already being visited, by Luskan thugs. Again, a good diplomacy
check makes the sergeant realize where his loyalties are. At least Moire's gold
is Neverwinter gold and not Luskan. The thugs will of course get mad and attack,
so kill them.
Just south of this post is the third one. He's rather easy to convince into
taking a little extra coin, so do that.

During your sweep head on around the Sunken Flagon. Seems a few magelings are
about to start a little brawl. Feel free to handle this however you please.
Both mages drop magic items when they die, so if you're going the evil way, I
would simply kill 'em.
You'll end up with a new party member as well, the sorcerer Qara. Feel free to
enter the Flagon and have a word or two with her, as well as check out her gear
and so forth.
Do note that the first two times you leave the Sunken Flagon with her in the
group, you will be attacked by academy students who in no way enjoyed that she
managed to survive the first "duel" with the two magelings. They will attack
no matter what you do. Fortunately, they're fairly weak.

Now, the last post is back behind the Sunken Flagon. Again, good diplomacy
makes him accept the bribe, while failing it makes them attack. Bribe them or
kill them, handle it how you can.
In the corner where Caleb was, you'll find two thugs. They've just killed one
of Moire's men, and are looking for more. With a good diplomacy check, you can
persuade them to join Moire, otherwise you'll have to kill them.
In the alley behind the weaponsmith, you'll find a wounded wolf. Seems he's yet
another druid who can't get out of his wildform. He'll eventually tell you that
you need to visit the Skymirror. This is part of Elanee's quest line. I do
believe you need to have Elanee in your party for this by the way.

Once the sweep is over, head back to Moire for your reward as well as your next
assignment.

Your next mission is to burn down the City Watch building in the Docks, and at
the same time make sure that nobody gets out alive. So, let's go play a bit
with fire. Head out and to the city watch building. You'll see three stacks of
very flammable materials in various places around it. Equip the torch Moire
gave you and set fire to all three of them. Kill any of the Watch trying to
stop you.
If you wish, you can enter the building afterwards and help get Cormick out.
Return to Moire when the mission is complete. She'll tell you that her boss,
Axle, is your new commander, so head out to the Merchant's Quarter.

Your next mission is to make sure a delivery of weapons arrive safely at its
destination. Seems easy enough. Head straight for the Back Alley.
Once you reach the entrance, you'll see a group of smugglers with their cargo.
Talk to the smuggling contact and enter the Back Alley.
The first thing you'll encounter is two groups of thugs. Take out their casters
first, then finish off the regular thugs.
Next up is a group of watchmen. It seems a peaceful solution is impossible here
so just kill them. In the alley straight west of the watchmen, you'll find a
third group of thugs, kill them too, then move on south to find the fourth
group. Remember, take out the spellcasters first, their chain lightning can
hurt.
A bit down the road you'll see a rather large group of city watch people. You
can get Qara or Neeshka to make a diversion by setting a fire, then go kill
them while they're busy putting out that fire. That would at least be the
maximum XP way to do it. If you let Qara do the distraction, and then tell her
that next time she's free to use more power, you'll get +1 INF with her.
Kill the group of thugs right after the guards, then move on.
At the point where the route turns south, take the northern (long) way around
the block, there's a group of thugs up there, might as well take them out as
well. It's all XP y'know.
Make sure you're rested up before the next encounter. You'll come across a
group of 5 thugs, telling you that they want the weapons and that they expect
you to surrender them. When you refuse, he'll bring in quite a few more thugs.
Of course, with Qara along, simply throw a few fireballs their way to get rid
of them. Once they're killed, proceed forward, the end is near ;)
Talk to the warehouse supervisor to finish up the escort quest. Unfortunately
your work is not yet complete.

Once inside, you'll get your reward, 2000g. Of course, the watch will arrive.
Seems somebody tipped them off about where that shipment was headed. Now, you
will need to defend the shipment, but don't worry too much. Simply head out to
the four locations one at a time and kill any city watch arriving at it. You
won't be timed or anything like that, so the job is actually rather simple.
You just need to clear out any city watch in the warehouse. Kill them all.
Once you're done, return to Moire and Axle for your reward as well as your next
mission.

Your next task will be Old Owl Well, so I suggest you go do Skymirror now if
you haven't already. After Skymirror, head for Old Owl Well. See those sections
for details about how to handle that. Once you're done at OOW, return to this
section to see how to handle your next missions.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.13] - The Skymirror
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You can do this area at any point during the chapter, just remember you
need Elanee in your party to do it.

When you arrive at the Skymirror, Elanee will tell you a bit about it. After
the cutscene, move forward. Have a look at the old worn trees. Seems they are
the seals she mentioned. They have some rather specific symbols. All four of
them represent a spell Elanee can cast, so make her cast the appropriate spell
for each tree:
1. A massive bull - Bull's Strenght
2. A leaping panther - Cat's Grace
3. A man's face that looks half wooden and half flesh - Barkskin
4. An owl perched on a high limb - Owl's Wisdom

Touch all trees after you cast your spell to make sure it worked. When you
touch the fourth tree, you will recieve the "Skymirror Offering". Have a chat
with Naevan, a druid of Elanee's circle. Seems he knows even less than you but
suspects the King of Shadows is returning. Once the conversation is over, you
will get 400xp, and Elanee will say that something is wrong and that we should
leave immediately. On your way out, you'll be attacked by water elementals and
ghasts - and in the end, just before the exit, a shadow priest and his thugs.
Kill them all, and remember to loot the remains.

Now either return to Neverwinter or proceed to Old Owl Well.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.14] - Old Owl Well
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the way to Old Owl Well, you'll meet up with Grobnar Gnomehands, a gnomish
bard. As per tradition with the NWN games, the bard is more annoying and a
comic relief than anything else. In any case, he'll be available to your party
from now on.

When you arrive to Old Owl Well, you'll notice that it looks more like a
military camp than anything else.
Simmy, the merchant here, has a decent variety of weapons available. Several of
them have fire or acid enchants, so that should give you a little hint of what
sort of monsters are coming up. Yep, it's troll-time, so make sure you got some
fire or acid stuff to kill 'em off with. If you have Qara with you, that won't
be a problem, I believe.

EVIL ROUTE:
Go speak with Karina, Axle's informant in this part of the Neverwinter army.
She will give you a paper that makes the rest of the area act like you were
employed by the City Watch, so from now on, continue on the good route.

GOOD ROUTE:
Go speak with Callum, or, Commander Callum to you. He'll tell you a few things
and then a band of orcs will attack. Slaughter them, and continue your chat.
Seems the emissary has been taken by orcs, and Callum's best bet is the
Bonegnashers. He'll also tell you that the true leader of the orcs is of the
Eyegouger tribe, and that there's an unknown orcslayer out there somewhere as
well. Somebody has been killing off orcs without mercy. Seems like a good man
to get on your side, so if you run across him, make sure to establish some sort
of relationship with him.
You got your orders. Rest up, and head out to the Bonegnasher lair.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.15] - Bonegnasher Clan
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entering this area, the first thing you will encounter is a group of orcs to
your left. Kill them, loot, move on northward. Take a left at the crossroad to
get to a troll. Time to find out how to kill those buggers. Return to the
crossroad and be assaulted by a rather large group of orcs. If you have Qara
along, her fireballs will work wonders, as they always do. Continue forward,
toward the rockslide.

When you arrive at the rockslide, a cutscene will tell you that you need to
find a way to remove all those rocks - and another group of orcs will attack
you. Move on north, the only way you can go. You'll soon reach a second
rockslide, only this one is passable if you have Elanee along. If you haven't
brought your druid, you'll have to take the long way around. I'd take the long
way anyways, there's critters to kill, loot to get and XP to gain by it.
Coming around the corner, you'll see a group of "blue" orcs. Approach them.
You'll soon find out that they're waiting for their scout to return. You'll get
a few options on how to take this battle, but however you choose it, you will
have to fight. I'd simply attack them and get it over with, but your call.

Once you've reached the north side of the rockslide, move a bit more to the
east to find a cave. Well, a troll cave, so get your fire/acid gear ready and
go kick some troll behind. Once all trolls are dead, search the place for a
crate with blastglobes. If you have Qara along, she'll tell you what they are
and how they're used. Be sure to grab the unstable ones as they're the ones we
need. Also, make sure you click the ore deposit at the back. It's not useful
currently, but it will become so later on.

Head out of the cave and back to the first rockslide, the big one. Watch the
cutscene and rejoice, the way is open. Take the southern route first, and
annihilate all the orcs running around - and yes, there's a lot of 'em. Again,
Qara's fireballs are wonderfully powerful.
Head up the eastern ramp to find Guyven of the Road. Have a little chat with
him. He tells you that the old Ironfist stronghold was around here, and if you
wish, he will tell you the story of the Clan, with a few comments from Khelgar
if you have him along.
Now it's time to have a visit to the actual lair of the Bonegnasher Clan, so
move north to the entrance. Kill off the guards and enter the lair.

Move northward, clearing the room to your left. At the crossroads, go left.
Clear the rooms as they come. Remember the door to the south in the corner.
You will soon come to a rather large room with another ore vein - click it.
Keep following the "road", clearing rooms as you go, and you'll soon enough
notice that you're almost back where you started. Backtrack a bit and clear
the last room before moving on eastwards.
Just after the path turns north, you'll come to two doors on your right. Seems
this is the prison cells, say hello to Pentin the miner. Since the Orcs won't
drop a key, you'll have to open it with other means. Pick it, bash it, blow it
up, whatever you please. Pentin will thank you and then run back to Old Owl
Well. You'll meet this fella later on.
For now, let's continue our ruthless slaughtering of the Bonegnasher tribe.
When the path turns westwards, there's a room to the north and one to the
south. The south one has a few orc casters and a chest in it, and the north
one has an Orc Matron. Clear the entire area, then rest up and buff up before
proceeding.
Continue westward, into another big room, and behold! The chieftain himself!
After a wee chat, he will run off and let his guards attack. Once they're dead
continue forward.
This next room is full of traps, so let Neeskha take the lead and clear it out
before proceeding north. Move forward until you see Yaisog Bonegnasher again.
This time he will fight. He will surrender when you're about to kill him, but
there are a few complications here. If you show him mercy, you will have to
meet him again later, at a point where you don't really want him. Any questions
will result in a lying answer from him, so he's not much use to you either way.

However you handle it, after Yaisog is gone, move a wee farther along the path
to find a man. He claims to be the emissary you're looking for, but something
just doesn't feel right, Neeshka will be especially suspicious. Turns out he
doesn't have the credentials, and don't know the contact in Neverwinter. If
you push him a wee too far, he will attack you. Whichever way you do it, you
will end up fighting him before you reach Old Owl Well.

After leaving the Bonegnasher Clan area, you'll have a random encounter on your
way back to Old Owl Well. Some orcs, and Casavir, a paladin. Seems he's the one
helping out the Neverwinter forces by slaughtering orcs. From now on, you'll
be forced to have him in your party until the real emissary has been freed. On
the bright side, he knows where the Eyegouger lair is located. Feel free to
return to Old Owl Well to sell loot before going there though.

Either way, your next point of interest will be the lair of the Eyegougers.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.16] - The Eyegouger Clan
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While this place may look a bit confusing, there's really only one way to go.
Move past the spiders, one orc group (remember to loot the chest) and another
two groups of spiders, then you'll come to a barricade with some orcs behind.
Seems you found the first line of defense of the Eyegouger lair. A well-placed
fireball takes care of the barricade itself, so it really isn't a big problem.
Keep moving forward, wasting the next barricade in the same manner.
Take care of the giant blade spider guarding the entrance to the actual lair,
and enter. 

Now, this is one big place so let's make sure we get it all. Move straight
north, killing all the orcs there. Go through the door to the north, killing
anything inside here as well. Remember to loot everything, we're starting to
get some quite nice loot from these orcs.
Backtrack a bit, and take the western path, clearing the rooms as they come.
Once you reach the northwest corner, go all the way to the west and clear that
little room up there. Whaddya know, humans working with orcs. Seems these guys
are conducting some rather special experiments.
Moving on, head up to the room just north of this little one. You'll find a
few wounded orcs in here. If you leave them alive, you'll get +1 good and +1
lawful, but feel free to kill them if you so please.
The next room to the north is the stairs down, ignore them for now, we still
got half a level to clear out. 
Move on to the big room just east of the staircase-room. Kill any orc you see
then proceed eastwards. Touch the ore in the little hallway farthest to the
east, and continue south, killing any orc you encounter, until you reach the
southeast corner. Take the rooms to the east first, killing that group of orcs
off. They have some quite decent loot. Backtrack, and go to the room just to
the right of the very first room we entered. You'll find a few white wolves in
there. If you have Elanee along, you'll be able to enlist their aid in combat
or to simply let them leave you alone. If your druid is not with you, they
will attack. Once this room is handled, return to the stairs down.

Level 2 is a bit smaller, and a bit easier to find your way in. Simply follow
the path, clearing any room you pass and you'll eventually come across an
interrogator. Listen to his little chat, then kill him and his goons. They're
packing some quite nice gear, so I suspect you'll soon be in problems carrying
it all. My suggestion is to dump the non-magical gear, then the studded leather
armors. They weigh a lot and they're not worth THAT much since they're only +1.
Keep moving forward. Clear the little room to the left before you enter the big
room to the north. In there, Logram Eyegouger awaits. If you didn't kill Yaisog
before, he will be here as well, helping his master fight you.
Once they're all dead, loot them - and the treasure room to the east, then
continue forward, down to level 3.

The first thing you'll notice is the corpses. Your companions will have a few
reactions, and Qara will mention that it looks like necromancy. Seems somebody
are gathering an army. There's plenty of options for gaining influence with
Casavir here, simply say they should be buried with proper rites and that you
have a responsibility to find out what's going on here. When Neeshka objects
say you trust her instincts to gain +1 INF with her as well.
Continue forward, taking the turn south whenever you can, clearing out that
area. There's another ore vein on the way, make sure you click that one as
well.
When you reach the room in the southeast corner, be prepared to fight
another shadow priest. Once he's dead, talk to Issani and let him leave for Old
Owl Well.
Once everything's taken care of, return to Old Owl Well to sell all the loot you
don't need as well as to talk with Callum again. You'll also notice that
Katriona has arrived. We'll get back to her, eventually.

Now, if you have Khelgar along, let's head out to those Dwarven scouts we've
had on the map for a while. If Khelgar's not in your party, you have to make a
little stop at the Sunken Flagon. Might be a good time to check if you can
craft/enchant some stuff as well, so whenever you're ready head out to the
dwarves.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.17] - Dwarven Scouts
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Khelgar has to be in your party in this area. It is, after all, his quest line
we're pursuing out here.

The first thing you see when you arrive in this area is a dwarf named Khulmar
Ironfist. He's not particularly happy about seeing Khelgar. Remember the quests
you needed to do in order to let Khelgar become a monk? This sure sounds like
one of them. Seems Khelgar isn't exactly popular among the Ironfist Clan any
longer. 

Once the talks are over, move forward, we have bugbears to slaughter. Keep
going forward, killing anything in your path, until you reach a dead dwarf.
Khelgar will get mad, and bugbears will attack, seems it was an ambush. How
clever of them. Kill them all.
Keep moving forward, killing the bugbears as they come. You'll eventually find
a captured dwarf, another Ironfist. Release him, but be careful what you say
to Khelgar afterwards - loosing INF with him is not the best thing right now.
Basically, if you try to tell him that he's forsaken his people, you'll loose
INF with him.
Either way, continue forward until you reach an entrance. This is the entrance
to the old Ironfist Clanhold. Time for another little dungeon crawl. Enter.

The very second you enter, you'll see a big bugbear talking with a few others.
They'll notice you and attack, obviously. To the left of the door north, you'll
see a "part chest". Open that, and keep the strange part, you'll need it later.
Ignore the door going east back at the entrance, it only leads to two
completely empty rooms. Be sure to touch the ore deposit in the corner, very
important. Move down the hallway, going west. Clear the room to the north,
then open the door to the west. Here's that big bloke we met at the entrance,
Gruum, together with his brother, Grish. Kill them both. 
Continue north till you encounter a group of bugbears arguing over some gold.
It's your choice if you want to hide and wait it out, leaving only 2 for you,
or if you'll just go attack them right away.
Keep moving, now eastwards, until you reach a door with a rather special lock.
If you have Neeshka along, and you got that strange part with you, all it takes
is a little hint from you that "maybe this part.." and she'll figure out the
rest. You can gain +1 INF with Khelgar by telling Neeshka that "we are not
scavengers" - the same sentence gives you -1 INF with Neeshka though.
Proceed through the door and enter Grausch's lair. Kill the lot of them.
When you open the chest, you find out that the gloves in it are the legendary
Gauntlets of Ironfist. Khelgar will tell you their history, and then say that
you should wear them with pride. If you say "You keep them. They belong to an
Ironfist" you gain +4 INF with Khelgar. And, since he's completely under your
command regarding gear, you'll still be able to wear them yourself. Truly a
win/win situation if there ever was one. Agree to return to Khulmar and you'll
get auto-ported back outside.

Have a chat with Khulmar, then return to Neverwinter to inform your commanding
officer that the latest assignment, the rescue of the Waterdeep emissary, has
been completed. She'll have a new job for ya..

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.18] - The Sea Ghost
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You remember the ship called the Sea Ghost be mentioned in one of the cutscenes
you've seen yes? Well, guess what, it's arrived, and Brelaina has learned that
there's a spy aboard that ship. Your orders are simple. Go to the ship and stop
that spy. Sharpen your blade, somehow I doubt they'll surrender themselves to
four members of the city watch arriving at their ship.

Head on out to the docks and the Sea Ghost. The ship's in the middle of the
dock. Once you approach it, a few Luskans will start getting nosy. No matter
what you say, it'll end up with a fight. Once they're dead, another group will
arrive, this one led by Ahja the Azure. Defeat him, and he'll tell you that he's
not really working for Luskan, but for Black Garius, the master of the fifth
tower.

Return to the city watch for your reward as well your next assignment.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.19] - The Githyanki Lair
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yet another threat to Neverwinter has been discovered. Githyanki assassins.
Well, you've got your orders, so head out to the Githyanki lair to start some
trouble. Or, rather, stop some trouble, I guess.
Anyhow, enter the lair, clear the south part first, then move north. Once you
reach the northern room, a cutscene will show a blade golem entering the portal
and attacking the Githyanki. Enter, whack the golem enough, and it will run
back through the portal, disabling both itself and the portal in the process.
Mission accomplished, return to your commander for your reward.

Once you return to the city watch, you'll see that Brelaina has some company.
Seems the Neverwinter Nine aren't too happy about Brelaina's interpretation of
orders given. No matter, you've finally been given access to the Blacklake
district, and a chance of continuing the main quest - the shards. Did you
forget about those in all the sidequests? ;)

Let's head to the Blacklake district right away, answers await. Head to the
entrance, then speak with one of the guards at the gate.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.20] - Blacklake, Shandra and the Githyanki
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your first stop in Blacklake is the old sage you've been wanting to talk to for
ages now, Aldanon. You'll have quite a chat with the fellow, a chat that will
end up with you finding out that the shards are pieces of a Githyanki silver
sword, and that Ammon Jerro was the real expert on that field. Thus, Aldanon
informs you that even if Jerro's dead, his secret retreat still exists - Ammon
Jerro's Haven. The location should be in the Neverwinter Archives. Aldanon will
also give you his own little shard.

Go outside again and ask the guard to take you to the Neverwinter Archives.
When you arrive at the archive, you'll soon learn that the Githyanki has
already arrived. Prepare for battle. Clear the two rooms to the sides, then
proceed north. You'll stumble into a caretaker who will tell you how to get
access to the information you seek. Let's secure the perimeter before we start
playing with the riddles though. Continue north and kill all Githyanki inside.

Once they're all dead, locate the corpse of the caretaker, just southeast of
the vault. Put on the veil, then run along the edges of the entire room,
opening the secret doors (six in all) as well as looting the bookshelves.
After all this rushing about, it's time to solve those darn riddles.

Let's start in the southwest corner. Remember, we need all four opened. Also,
if you open all four in first attempt, you'll get a periapt of wisdom +2.
Seeing how these riddles are created, that will be a wee tougher than just
reading here though.
The riddles are randomly generated, so there's no real telling which one you'll
get. During my games, I will try my best to list all possible questions, but
I have no real clue as to how many there are so it may or may not take a while.
Sometimes your lore skill may help you, at other times one of your companions
may help you, but regardless, here we go with the small start of a collection:

NOTE: you need to have all the relevant books in your inventory to be able to
answer any of the riddles.

The southwest pillar is related to the Illefarn Cypher.
Simply copy it to paper or in notepad and decode whatever the pillar says.

The northwest pillar is related to To Counter The Assumption Of...
  Question: The author of the tome believes Faerun is the shape of a..
  Answer: ring
  Question: What sorcerer succeeded in disrupting the Weave?
  Answer: Karsus

The northeast pillar is related to The Luskan Threat to Neverwinter
  Question: What does the author recommend Lord Nasher do about the Luskan..
  Answer: Build more alliances..
  Question: Who is the current ambassador for Luskan?
  Answer: Torio Claven
  Question: What is Luskan's most immediate short-term goal?
  Answer: Assassinate Lord Nasher

The southeast pillar is related to Death of a Sailorman
  Question: Who is the Captain of the Crimson Hawk
  Answer: Lariat Quist
  Question: What does Trenor consider his "crowning achievement"
  Answer: Sinking the Luskan Pride
  Question: What weapon is used to kill Trenor B. Darven?
  Answer: A jewelled dagger
  Question: How many variations are there of Trenor B. Darven's death?
  Answer: Hundreds

Once you've answered all four correctly, the door to the vault is open.
Unfortunately, the Githyanki already got inside, so you will have to fight a
few to have any real access.
When they're dead, you learn that the last living relative of Ammon Jerro is
Shandra, "the Highcliff girl with the flammable barn" as Neeshka puts it.
auto-port there.

Arriving at Shandra's farm, you see the Githyanki have already arrived. Clear
out the ones blocking your path, then get inside the house. Clear the Giths
while at the same time trying to convince Shandra that you're here to help.
Eventually, they'll set fire to her house, making her run outside, and after a
few waves of Githyanki, she'll accept to go with you to the Sunken Flagon.
Say "let's go immediately" to get auto-ported there. Time to have a little chat
with this living clue.

After the cutscene, you'll go to bed, and whaddya know, the Githyanki arrives.
Fight off the attackers only to find out that Shandra has been kidnapped. Time
for that ranger you've seen in the Sunken Flagon to get into play. He's a
tracker, and after a bit of struggle, he'll help you track those buggers down.

You'll head off immediately, tracking them to the village of Ember. Of course
it's an ambush, so get ready for a tough fight. Two waves of Githyanki will
attack you. Kill them all, and a woman will tell you that they took Shandra to
the mountains. Before you leave Ember, you should talk to Marcus. He's a spooky
kid. Qara will mention that she can feel immense power coming from him. Marcus
wants Bishop's skinning knife. If you persuade Bishop to hand it over, Marcus
will help you out later on.

Now, before you head off to the new location on the minimap, make sure you're
done with Chapter 1. Skymirror, dwarven scouts and so forth. Once you feel
ready, head out to the final location of chapter 1 - The Githyanki Base.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1.21] - Githyanki Base
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When you arrive to the area, prepare for a rather long battle. You'll stay in
combat almost half way through the map, until you once again find Guyven of the
Road. He'll tell you a bit about the Illefarn ruins on this mountain, and you
will get 250xp once more for simply locating him.
Continue forward though, we have more Githyanki blood to spill. I must admit,
it does feel good to take the fight to them for once, instead of constantly
running away from them. Enter the cave.

The first thing that happens when you enter the cave is that you'll be stopped
by a Githyanki sword stalker. If you think you've seen him before, it's true.
He was the Gith who led the attack on West Harbor, killing Amie, your talented
wizard friend in the process. You can have a fairly long chat with him, but
eventually he will attack you.
Once they're all dead, continue onwards. Around the next corner you'll encounter
a succubus fighting the Githyanki. Hmm, what's that all about now..
Moving on, you'll get the explanation. Another familiar face from the cutscenes
is here. Now, what may his agenda be, after killing off the nobles in
Neverwinter and now suddenly here?
The next interesting thing is two succubi playing with that blade golem you
met at the Githyanki hideout in Neverwinter earlier on. Seems all the loose ends
are coming together in this cave. Still, loads of questions to be answered so
let's move on. Nothing more of note happens on this level, so once you reach
the door to level 2, rest up and move down.

You'll see three succubi teasing a devil. Kill the succubi, then talk with the
devil. Seems he wants to be freed and since freeing him is the only way to get
past the forcefield thingie ahead of you, you don't really have a choice.
Learn his true name, then say the right words and *poof* no more barrier. Loot
the room and clear the two side-rooms before continuing forward.
Going north, you'll eventually come upon Zaxis. There might be another way, but
seeing as I was a paladin, I didn't even consider it, I simply attacked that
demon. Once he's dead, the door into Zeeaire's room will open, leaving her and
her guards as the only living enemies left.

When you're fully buffed up, enter, have a conversation with Zeeaire. A good
diplomacy check will make two of the guards leave, but that will also result in
a loss of xp and loot, and we can't have that now, can we? ;)
Now, Zeeaire is inside a portal system of sorts, and there are two ways of
removing it. Either you simply use the interdimensional sphere you got from the
devil earlier on, or you destroy the three thingies around her. Either way, it
would probably be best to wait with doing this till after the guards have been
killed in order to focus your fire in the best way.
Once Zeeaire has been defeated, she will tell you that the Githyanki was not
the real threat. The King of Shadows is returning, and he will destroy all life
and so forth, just like all the other ancient evils, they either wish to
enslave all life or destroy all life. Loot everything, then talk to Shandra to
return to the Sunken Flagon.

A rather long cutscene ensues, in which Shandra joins your party. She will not
count as one of the three you can have along, and she's a level 11 fighter to
boot. She's rather weak, however, so you'll need some strenght-enhancing items
to get her up to par with a true warrior.
You will also, in time, get Sand to join your merry band of adventurers. And be
accused of butchering the village of Ember, you will too. Of course, that is
only a Luskan plot to bring you to Luskan so they can kill you, but there's
the small matter of proving this.
While all this sounds fairly horrific, there's light at the end of the tunnel.
If you accept to become a squire of a knight of Neverwinter, Lord Nasher, and
Luskan, will be forced to have your trial here in Neverwinter instead of in
Luskan, greatly increasing your chances of survival. And thus, chapter 1 ends
and chapter 2 begins.

===============================================================================
CHAPTER TWO
===============================================================================

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.1] - Introduction
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, you've seen the cutscene, you know you need to visit the City Watch in the
Merchant's Square in order to become a squire. But, there are other things to
do as well. Blacklake has been opened up again and evildoers are approaching
your companions from several sides. Neeshka, Qara and even Khelgar has some
loose ends that needs to be tied up, as you'll see once you leave the safety of
the Sunken Flagon.

The first time you leave the Flagon with Neeshka in your party, she'll be
approached by Tasha, who seems to be Leldon's wife. She tells that Leldon plans
to do a grand finale, then retire far away from Neverwinter. He intends to rob
The Collector's mansion. Now, Neeshka will of course react to this, and even if
you're lawful good, you will inevitably end up snooping about in that mansion
I suspect.

Also, at some point during the chapter while you have Qara in your party, you
will see a cutscene of Johcris and that evil Luskan assassin conjuring up a
strange creature - an animus elemental that will attack Qara at a time it sees
fit, apparently. In my case, it attacked me when I headed out for Crossroad
Keep.

It's also during this chapter you finish up Khelgar's three vision quests in
order to monkify the little brawler.
Do note that the choice of "monking" Khelgar or not is one of the toughest
choices in the game, really. It depends a lot on how you prefer to use him,
and how your preferred party is built. Monks get some nifty special abilities,
but whether it's worth it losing the fighter power that is Khelgar, well, I'll
leave that up to you. Personally, I tend to keep him as fighter if I play a
caster, and monkify him if I'm a fighter-type. That way the loot is spread out
a bit more ;)

Once you arrive at the City Watch, speak to Captain Brelaine to get your next
assignment for the Watch as well. Seems they need a person to go undercover in
Blacklake in order to arrest some thieves wanting to buy some needed supplies.

And of course, the exploration of the Blacklake District awaits.

Do note that you can take the entire 2.2 section in whichever order you want.
You can wait till after becoming a squire, and I assume you can wait till after
your trial as well, so you're in no way bound to do it in the same order as me.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.2] - Exploring Blacklake.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While we can hardly stress the importance of you becoming a squire and thus
invulnerable to the Luskan plot enough, there's still time to do a few things
here and there.

After meeting Tasha outside the Sunken Flagon, take a little turn down to the
docks. You'll see a new person down there, Fibba. She's one of the limited
edition merchants who has now become available for all of us. She carries some
rather unique stuff if you use the "blessed of waukeen" feature, and she also
carries plenty of molds and crafting materials like mithral and zalantar wood.

Right now may actually be a good time to do your first real crafting and
enchanting session if you haven't already, so feel free to visit the various
merchants - especially Pap, and get the supplies you need to get some deserved
upgrades to your gear.

Head on out to the Merchant's Quarter, enter the City Watch and speak with
Captain Brelaine. She'll have a mission for you in Blacklake, and since we're
headed there now, you might as well complete it while we're there.

Once you reach Blacklake you'll see a painter in front of you. If you talk to
him, he'll exclaim that Shandra is the perfect model, and that he has to paint
her. Convince Shandra to do so, and pay 500g for the painting afterwards for
+2 INF with Shandra. If you have Neeshka along, you'll loose -2 INF with her
for all this nonsense. If you only pay 300g, you'll not get any INF changes at
all.

You'll also see a bard who challenges you to a duel: It's a fun little thing
to do, so let's get playing. You play 4 "duels" and you only need to win one
to win the whole thing. First of all, here's the correct keys for the 4 songs:
Song 1: 44124754
Song 2: 234451122
Song 3: 2332233175
Song 4: 35345272725
The songs aren't the only thing you need though. You also need to make a
succesful skill check on at least one of the checks made after each song.
Don't worry though, there's loads to choose from: Intimidate, Sleight of Hand,
Appraise, Bluff, Perform, Diplomacy and so forth, so it shouldn't be too big
a problem. If you're failing, you can always get a little help from Qara in
the last round - lute playing with fireworks included seems to win the crowd.
When you win, you get 250xp and a magic lute.

Now go check the merchant at the academy square, he has some rather nice items
for sale, so it's really worth a look.
Note the imp near the merchant? If you help him free his friends, you'll get
a major chaotic alignment change, so if you're a paladin, don't even think
about it. There's no other worthwhile reward in it anyways.

Enter Castle Never and speak with Sir Nevalle to get another sidequest. Seems
Luskan isn't satisfied with having you on trial, they've also lured a few of
the Neverwinter citizens into treason. Head on out to Temar's Estate. When
you enter, Temar will almost immediately tell you he's a traitor and a fight
ensues. Kill 'em all, and remember to loot 'em for a few nice goodies. Also
remember to return to Nevalle for your reward.

There's also a quest to be gotten at the Temple of Lathander. Seems the
priests would like to give good old Brother Merring a little reward for his
efforts, and since you might return to West Harbor soon enough, you might as
well grab the box they want given to him.

Before entering the Collector's home, you'll see four people have a little
meeting of sorts. Initiate dialogue and listen to what's going on. Seems even
Neverwinter have their Goths. Tell Kyli that you'll find her sister, and you
will get a quest, "my sister, the rebel". Let's do that one right away, who
knows, it might be another undead menace grabbing a hold of these poor kids.

When you enter the crypt, you'll see that the kids are not the only ones who
got this idea. They'll explain it's a private party, but suddenly a scream
will echo through the crypt. Head on through, and see two other people be
trapped by a group of undead. Kill them, then talk to the two people to find
out that they had expected the undead would kill you. Seems these guys serve
the King of Shadows as well. Kill them all. Loot Lorelei's corpse to get a
worn key, and continue into the crypt, plenty more undead to kill, and you
haven't found the girl you were looking for yet either.
You'll eventually reach a room with a gong in it. It has a door to the south
and a hallway going north. Go north through the hallway first. Watch for traps
and loot the sarcophagi and the chest, there's some decent loot in there.
Now go south, to the final room, buff up before you enter.
When you enter, you'll see a few familiar faces, Savannah and Raven. With a
good diplomacy check you can persuade Savannah to quit this cult, which
makes the others attack you. Kill them, then speak with Savannah and get
400xp for turning her away from the King of Shadows.
NOTE: Savannah has to survive this fight for you to get those 400xp.
Continue forward, we're not quite done here. Enter the final room, to see the
high priest of this place getting ready to finish some bizarre ritual. Have a
few words with him, then fight off the lot of 'em. Take down the initiates
first, then focus on Arval. Once they're dead, talk to Lisbet, only to have
her summon a group of greater shadows on you. Kill those as well, then talk
to Lisbet again to learn what was really going on here. If you're friendly
to her, she'll follow you out. She'll also tell you that the ritual she just
performed has caused all the people you killed down here to rise again as
shadows, so get ready to fight your way out. Remember to loot the little
room to the south to get Arval's Journal. This journal can be given to Sir
Navalle for an XP bonus. 
A good tip for getting Lisbet out safely is to either give her a stoneskin
buff, or to simply order her to "stand your ground" before you enter a room
with hostiles. (Remember to tell her to follow you again afterwards tho.)
Once outside, talk to Kyli for a reward, a bit of gold and a whooping 2000xp.

Now, time to handle Neeshka's little affair. Pick the lock, and enter the home
of the Collector. Inside, you'll soon learn that "no resting is allowed", and
that the Collector's guards are the "kill first, ask questions later" type.
Work your way through the first floor until you meet Vania. Have a word with
her, and a succesful diplomacy check makes her help you, she'll volunteer to
act as your hostage so the Collector will give you his. Also, check the journal
on the table. Seems the poor Collector secretly desires a completely different
life.
Once up there, it seems he values his collection more than his wife. Give her
some money to start afresh, then grab the painting next to the Collector and
threaten to destroy it. He'll give you his key as well as tell you that one
of the books has the secret to unlocking the vault. Go grab the book about
numerology on the shelf. It's an algebra question, leading to the code: 513.
Now, the vault needs all in all 2 keys and a combination. You have one key
and the combination. Head downstairs again, to the servant's room. Grab the
empty bottle from the wash basin and put it into the vase of water to create a
full bottle of water. Head back upstairs, and use the bottle on the fireplace.
Then grab the ornate silver key. Use all the keys on the door, then enter the
combination.
Once you enter the vault, Leldon will arrive. Kill him, then loot the vault for
anything of value, no alignment change. Even my paladin didn't seem to have
problems looting the home of an innocent man.

Just one last thing to do in Blacklake, finishing up your job for the City
Watch. Enter the empty house just west of the district exit, and talk to one
of the undercover watchmen. When the thieves arrive, you'll have to do some
fine perform/bluff checks to make them trust you enough to actually hand over
the cash. If you keep it neutral, they won't trust you and it will end in a
fight. I have a feeling it will end in a fight no matter what you do, but I
haven't been able to prove that so far.

Return to Captain Brelaine to complete your mission and be informed that she
has no more jobs for you to do.
With all the loose ends tied up as well as we can, it's time to become a
squire..

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.3] - Becoming a Squire
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since you should already be at the City Watch, simply speak to Sir Grayson.
After a little lesson in what Knighthood is, you'll be told that in order to
become a squire, you need stand vigil for one night, alone in the Solace Glade.
Say you're ready for it, and you'll get auto-ported there. Simply follow the
cutscenes until you get attacked by a group of Luskan assassins. Don't worry,
they're no true match for you.

Next morning, you'll be accepted as Sir Grayson's squire, and Lord Nasher will
be delighted to tell the Luskan ambassador off. You now have a new assignment:
Find proof of your innocence.
While you're here, talk to Lord Nasher about that journal you found in the
crypt.

Since we've already completed the quests and tidbits we can in Neverwinter,
let's head out for Port Llast right away. Do note, you're forced to have Sand
in your party to leave to Port Llast. I'm sorry, but that's the way it is ;)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.4] - Port Llast
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sand will initiate dialogue when you arrive. If you finish it by saying you're
glad to have him along, you'll get +2 INF with him.

Head straight to the Garrison and speak with Haeromos. Seems they have a
witness who saw you slaughter them all. A good diplomacy check allows you to
speak with her. It's Alaina, the same woman who told you where the Gith took
Shandra back when you were in Ember.
Again, some good diplomacy checks, and Sand's help, makes her a bit uncertain
that it was actually you who did it. She tells that it was you, together with
a dozen humans. No gnomes, dwarves or tieflings. Seems Sand is of the opinion
that the Luskans let her escape so she could tell the world that it was you
who did it. If you deny Sand's proposal of using her in court, you'll lose 1
INF with him.
You can also get some information about Luskan, Black Garius, Lorne and Torio
from Haeromos, but he won't be talking much otherwise, simply because you're
still the prime suspect of the slaughter of Ember, so head outside again.

There's a few interesting people in Port Llast:
Haljal the Weaponsmith and Yask the Armorsmith, both at the Cracked Anvil. 
Nodoab and Enleva - two gnomes obsessed with Wendersnaven. I'm assuming you'll
experience something rather unique if you have Grobnar along.
Nya - gives you the quest "Nya's Duty", a quest you'll complete in Ember.
Malin - A ranger inside the Alliance Arms, who will tell you that there might
be a survivor from Ember hiding out in the Duskwood Grove. She'll also tell
you that Duskwood has become a dangerous place as of late though.
Elgun - Speak to him after you've spoken to Haljal, Alaina and Malin to uncover
his lie. Hint at that he's a witness and the attackers are still alive, and
he'll stop spreading his stories. That gives you 500xp.
Calindra - Speak with her to find out that her partner, Bradbury, is missing.
Both she and him are miners, and the last she heard was that he said he had
found a massive deposit inside Duskwood.

In the south end of Port Llast, you'll be stopped by a group of guards. A good
diplomacy checks makes them give up their intended arrest of you, and nets you
250xp as well.

Now with all this taken care of, let's head on out to Ember, the site of the
crime.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.5] - Ember
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon arriving to Ember, your companions will have a few reactions to the
massacre. Let's start by doing Nya's quest, and at the same time securing that
the villagers won't suddenly rise up and attack. While doing so, you'll come
across a corpse who didn't die in the attack. He was poisoned, according to
Sand, and he will take a sample to use in court.

During your sweep, you'll also find the Quartermaster's Log, another piece of
the puzzle. Close to that, you'll find Guyven of the Road. Tell him that he'll
always have a place by your fire. You won't regret it later.

Once all the villagers have been laid to rest, go check out the well. Sand
should have already mentioned he heard something in it. If you helped Marcus
back when you were first in Ember, he'll be down here, telling you what really
happened. His description fits the description of the Luskan, Lorne, quite
nicely. He'll return to the Sunken Flagon. You'll also find a vein of ore down
here, as well as a door leading to some caves.

Head on through, and you'll encounter some goblins. Seems they've killed an
intruder a short while ago, so ask to speak to their chieftain about that
fella. The chieftain says that only a ring remains of him, and that the only
way you will get it is to clear out some spiders nearby. Agree to this, and
continue forward. Locate the spiders, and kill them all. Remember to click the
vein of ore in the same cave as the spiders as well.

You'll soon encounter a giant spider named Kistrel. It seems the spider wants
to tell you something. Remember where it is for now, we'll return to it soon.
If you have Elanee along, you'll be able to talk to it and get that quest to
find some food for it. You might be able to get the quest without Elanee if
you're a Drow - I haven't verified that yet though.

Return to Glek, the goblin chieftain, and tell him the spiders are dead. He'll
give you a ring very much like the one you found on the assassins that came for
you on your night in the Solace Glade. It's a Luskan Assassin ring, another
piece of the puzzle. Move through the caves and take the exit to Duskwood.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.6] - Duskwood
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whether you arrive to Duskwood from land or from the underground caves, you'll
start out in the same place. Sand will tell you that his magic will be weakened
in here - be friendly and respectful to him to get +2 INF. If you have Qara
along as well, Jarno Porrka says that these choices give -2 INF with her.

Move on out, and you'll soon encounter Lyssa. Seems this little dryad has been
playing a rather large part in this whole setup. She gave Lorne some powder of
alteration to help him, and she got her revenge over the villagers as well.
She will give you some of that powder, if you get her the glowstone from the
goblin caves below. You can object to this, which will give you +3 good and -1
INF with Sand, but in the end you'll have to accept if you want to prove your
innocence. If you have a high bluff skill, 2 succesful bluff checks will make
her think you're Lorne and she'll give you the powder.
If you fail one or both bluff checks, head back to the underground caves and
straight for the Glowstone. Grab the stone and kill the goblins attacking you.
Don't worry, no alignment shift in that. They're still just goblins after all.
Return to the dryad and give her the glowstone. You'll get the alteration
powder from her in return.
NOTE: You could also simply threaten her to hand it over. If you have Elanee
along, the animals won't attack you, and a single dryad isn't too hard to
kill I guess. No alignment change in this, however, only the fuzzy feeling of
having saved the lives of a group of pacifist goblins.
(info from Alexander Evan-Jones)

We're not quite done in Duskwood yet though, so return to the underground cave
entrance, and head up the cliff, moving southwards. You'll soon encounter a
group of dire wolves. Kill them, and move on. Follow the road west, killing off
critters as they come. When you reach the cave entrance, you'll meet Jalla and
Mirri, two gnomes. These two seem rather odd, and they've got little interest
in letting you inside the cave. Say you'll go anyway though, and enter.
Kill off any wolves you encounter, and explore the cave. Once you reach the end
you'll find Bradbury. Or, what's left of him. Turns out those two cute gnomes
are werewolves, and that they won't be able to resist attacking you since you
went straight into their lair. Kill them all. One of the little cute wolves has
an insect collection.

If you have Elanee in your party, return to Kistrel, the named spider in the
caves and hand it the insect collection. You'll get 1000 xp as well as a
comment saying you sense you'll see this creature again. You will, later on.
NOTE: If you didn't bring Elanee, simply finish up all the quests and return
here with her in the party before the trial.

Head back to Port Llast and hand in your quests with Nya and Calindra, then
head to Neverwinter, Blacklake District and Castle Never to start your trial.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.7] - The Trial
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Even with all your evidence, there's still a lot to do. If your character has a
high diplomacy skill, you should be quite fine running the show yourself, if not
I'd leave the word to Sand.
During the trial, you'll see several faces you know, Aliana, Marcus, Nya, Callum
and a few others.
Once you've proven your innocence, Lord Nasher will send Torio and her Luskan
friends out of Neverwinter, but Torio will have one final card to play.
It will end with a Luskan champion and yourself (or one of your party) having
to combat to the death in the morning.

You'll be sent to the Temple of Tyr to prepare a cleansing ritual. Before the
ritual starts, Khelgar will arrive, more enraged than ever. He deeply desires
to take your place in the fight tomorrow. If you're not a melee class, that
would probably the the best choice, but seeing as I'm a paladin, I thanked him
for the offer but insisted that I meet Lorne on the battlefield.

Once the ritual has started, several members of your party might pay you a
visit, supposedly depending on who you've gained the most influence with.
Sand will arrive, giving you a few potions as well as a hint that Torio seems
to be close to breaking.
Casavir will arrive, offering to take your place on the battlefield. If you
decline, he will give you another potion that will help you.
Nevalle will then arrive, telling you it's time - and that Lord Nasher will
give you a noble title as well as some land if you succeed. He's been wanting
an excuse to remove the Arcane Brotherhood of Luskan from Neverwinter for a
while now, and defeating Lorne will do just that.
Just before the battle, Grobnar will wish to sing a song for you, but whether
he does or not depends on your influence with him.
Time to fight. Lorne will enter a barbarian frenzy, making it impossible to
actually defeat him until it's over. Thankfully, Sand gave you a potion of
invisibility, so use that once he's almost dead, then wait it out and strike
the final blow.

Once the fight is over, you'll be congratulated by Lord Nasher, who sends you
straight to the Sunken Flagon for some rest. You'll see a cutscene of Garius.

Now, some time after the trial, you'll meet a group of bounty hunters while
travelling the land. A good intimidate check can make them run away, but I
wouldn't do that. You need the cash from their gear for other purposes ;)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2.8 - Aldanon's Manse
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now, after the trial, you can also convert Khelgar into a monk if you so wish,
and if you've gained enough influence with him. Khelgar will loose all his
fighter levels and gain all levels in the monk class instead. His only great
weakness is his wisdom modifier, but I'm sure a person of your resources will
be able to find a periapt of wisdom as well as some decent monk robes somewhere.
Do note that the ability score bonuses does not seem to be removed, so you'll
actually get them twice. Most likely a bug, I'd say.

Wolf, the kid you helped back in act 1 (if you did help him that is), will
have a message for you, from Aldanon the Sage, something about some silver
shards. 

Head over to Aldanon to hear what he has to say. Once you get there, it seems
thieves have gone rampant in the poor man's house. Cormick lies in the front
yard, struck by a wand, and two thieves are holding the Watch off. With some
good diplomacy checks, you can persuade both the thieves to surrender and the
Watch to agree to let them go. Once that's done, they'll gladly answer your
questions. Hope you brought Neeshka along if you're not a rogue yourself, since
it sounds like there's a whole lot of traps inside. Buff up, and enter.

Once inside, be ever-careful of traps, otherwise simply kill all the thugs you
meet while exploring the place. In one of the rooms just north of the library
you'll meet the butler, who's about to be killed. If you save him, that nets
you 500xp extra.
There are two doors that lead to the basement, but you can only open one of
them, the one in the southwest corner. Make sure you clear the first floor
before going down though.
Once you approach the four "blue" characters in the basement, the leader will
tell one of his men to kill the hostages. The more hostages you save, the more
XP you get. Once they're all dead, you'll learn that the nobles who've been
killed, has been killed because of a shard they have. It now lies with the
last surviving noble - and Aldanon has dissapeared, kidnapped and traded off
to some unknown fate.

Head outside, and do as Shandra says - head straight for Lord Nasher himself.
Nasher will order you to head straight for the Tavorick mansion, and will send
a squad of guards as well. You got your orders, so head for the mansion.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.9] - The Tavorick Estate
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You'll be stopped by two guards once you reach the estate, but once they find
out who you are, you'll be let right in. Once inside, talk to Ballard, then
Tavorick. Inspect the house. In the southeastern room, you'll find two barrels
of very old blastglobes. You remember those from back when we used one to blow
up the rockslide at the orcs yeah? You can check upstairs too, but there's
nothing worth noting.

Talk to Ballard about those blast globes, then order the house locked down.
Settle your defenses (it matters little as far as I can tell) and prepare for
combat. After a little while, you'll be called downstairs, only to be attacked
by a few waves of demons. After a little while a scream will come from
upstairs, forcing you to return to Tavorick. He'll then tell of a crypt with
only one door. Now why didn't he mention that before.. Head downstairs, where
you'll once more be attacked by demons. After some time,the demons retreat.
Seems we were all a decoy and the girl he had with him earlier has the shard.
Don't worry too much, she's a member of the Nine. Time to head out for the
Moonstone Mask in any case, but there's one itsy-bitsy-tiny problem. The exit
is a wee bit blocked by a big bad demon.
NOTE: If you manage to save Tavorick, you get a little XP bonus. (info from
Larry Puccinelli).
Either way, buff up. Fully. Then go pay a visit to this Qaggoth-Yeg demon. He
will have a little speak, then attack you. Once him and his fellow demons are
dead, head out and move straight for the Moonstone Mask.

Enter the Mask, go upstairs and clear the area, then proceed through the
closed door. Seems you're too late. This warlock will summon two hellhoundish
dogs to attack you, then dissapear. Kill the dogs, then return to Lord Nasher.
Nasher, and a new person you've seen in cutscenes before, will tell you of
the latest news about Black Garius. Seems he's within Neverwinter territory, at
the Crossroads Keep. Nasher's orders are simple as always, head out there, kill
all the bad guys and save Aldanon the Sage. All in a days work, I believe ;)

Prep up, get ready, and head for the Crossroads Keep.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.10] - Crossroad Keep
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You'll see a cutscene of Garius preparing the ritual before you arrive at the
Keep. Once there, a few of the Neverwinter Wizards will brief you on the
situation, suggesting a direct attack would be the best move, seeing as we're
a bit short on time. Agree, and attack the few guards outside the keep, then
head inside.
After a short battle, the doors will be sealed, and the Wizards will tell you
of an escape tunnel. Head back out to the world map and to the escape tunnel.

Once inside, follow the path forward, smashing beetles as you go. In one of the
early rooms, you'll find another ore vein to add to your collection of found
veins. Keep going, remember to loot the supply room with the bone spider, and
head on into the Keep itself. You'll find Aldanon, who's his own distracted
self. Talk to him, and finally tell him to get out and warn Neverwinter. Loot
his bookcase for a golem activation manual thingie. Seems that dear Blade Golem
is here as well. Keep going, slaughter the Luskans who stand between you and
the two arcane brothers. Once the wizards are inside, start looking for Garius.

Backtrack a bit and enter the only door here. You'll encounter a group of
shadow priests who will inform you that the ritual is designed to unite Garius
with the King of Shadows, not to let Garius take over his power. Kill them all
and continue down. You'll meet the blade golem here, so kill that one as well.

Buff up, head on in, and slaughter the lot. "Talk" to the four lieutenants as
well. Once the last man is dead, you'll see a cutscene of Garius exclaiming
"what have you done to me?" whereafter he dies. Say "hold on" to Vale, loot all
the corpses (Garius has a shard as well), then talk to him again to get ported
to Neverwinter.

After a few cutscenes in Neverwinter, Zhjaeve will join your party, and Nevalle
will tell you to meet him at the Crossroads Keep. Since you've got nothing
better to do, head back to the Keep. After a rather long cutscene, you'll now
have two massive tasks ahead of you. Cleaning up your shiny new keep and
preparing it for war, as well as preparing yourself for the battle against the
King of Shadows himself.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.11] - Stronghold part 1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: Most of the information in this section is from the Stronghold Guide by
Paradox Jast aka xInfInIty. The full version of his excellent guide can be
found at:
http://db.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/file/neverwinter_nights_2_stronghold.txt

You need to know a few things about this whole Keep thing before we start.
Time acts in a different way here. Moving from the Courtyard to the Farms or to
the Keep passes time for most of the Keep, so if you have people on their way
to your Keep and you're waiting for them to be able to continue your work, move
around a bit. For Kana and Veedle, time only progresses when you speak with
them, which means that you can effectively save all Kana's special missions and
so forth until you've upgraded the gear and have had time go by so the soldiers
are perfectly trained.

You will get 70.000g to help you get started with all the work that needs to be
done with your Keep, but once they're gone, you will have to use your own cash.
According to Paradox Jast, you need over 700.000 all in all to finish the Keep
completely. Now you know why you were told to save your cash earlier on.
Also, at certain points, you won't be able to progress time any further at your
Keep. This is meant to be a hint to you that you should return to adventuring.
You know, the very pressing mission with that evil King of Shadows and such?

With those things out of the way, let's start the giant process of making this
junkyard into a true castle.

You'll be standing in the Keep Courtyard, having just finished the insanely
long cutscene with Navalle and Zhjaeve, so let's check out what's actually
here yet. There's a lot of "ruined" buildings, but one structure is already up
and running - the inn, of course. Inside, you'll find out that Sal, the old
barkeep from the Sunken Flagon has taken the chance and started his own inn
right in your new Courtyard. He'll also mention that he wants a dancer, but
ignore that for now.

Head back outside and up the ramp to be introduced to two of your most
important employees. Kana, the leader of your Greycloaks, and Veedle, the man
responsible for all the construction work you want to do. Watch their cutscene
and talk to Veedle afterwards. He'll tell you what you probably already know:
The Keep is in a horrible state. Buildings, the Keep itself, fortifications
and even the outlying roads need loads of work, so let's have him build #1:

Building Order (open for debate, I built based on xInfInIty's guide):
 1. Courtyard - Smithy (10,000gp)
 2. Courtyard - Merchant's Shop (10,000gp)
 3. Keep - Library (15,000gp)
 4. Keep - Personal Suite (15,000gp)
 5. Keep - West Wing (15,000gp)
 6. Surroundings - Widen Merchant Trail (10,000gp)
 7. Surroundings - Cobble Trail (35,000gp)
 8. Surroundings - Nearby Roads (50,000gp)
 9. Surroundings - Bridges and Watch Towers (100,000gp)
10. Fortifications - Wall Repairs (25,000gp)
11. Fortifications - Reinforce the Walls (50,000gp)
12. Fortifications - Towers (75,000gp)

With Veedle busy, it's time to visit the interior of the keep. You'll find a
few interesting people inside.
Uncus is a shady merchant who'll want to set up a little shop. Allow him to do
so. He'll buy stuff up to 15.000gp and sell a few interesting items as well.
In the basement you'll find Grobnar who's busy repairing the blade golem. He
wants you to find a specific book and some specific parts to do so though.
Don't worry too much about that yet.
Also in the basement you'll find Kistrel the spider from Duskwood. He'll ask
if he can stay - up to you, but I'd say yes. What's cooler than having your
own friendly giant spider sitting around in case of evildoers?

Kana, your sergeant, is the main reason for going inside. It's at her you'll
discuss things like soldiers (training, missions etc), tithes and things like
that. For now, make sure that all tithes are set to zero and that your
soldiers are ordered to training and garrison. Also order Kana to only accept
the very best recruits.
NOTE: I'm not sure if this matters, but just to be certain, every time you
talk to Kana, order her to have your greycloaks do whatever you need them to
do. Basically, for the entire first session here, you'll order her to train
and garrison. Again, I'm not sure it matters, but better safe than sorry I'd
say.
Go outside again and order Veedle to build #2.

Now it's time to do a lot of travelling. We've met quite a few people on our
adventures, and some of them might be interested in getting a new job.
First off, head to West Harbor.
Once there, talk to Orlen and ask him to help you get your farms up and running
again. And, now that we're here, we might as well finish off two sidequests, so
go talk to Brother Merring to deliver the tithe box and talk to Retta Starling
to finish up the Soldier's Story sidequest.
Now we need to figure out how to get some resources to our keep, so let's
head out to Port Llast and have a chat with Calindra the miner. One miner is
not enough though, so let's go to Old Owl Well next. There we'll find Pentin,
another out-of-job miner, so let's hire him as well. And, while there, we
might as well hire another fine soldier to train our troops, so have a chat
with Katriona too.
Next up is Fort Locke. There we'll find Jacoby the weaponsmith. He'll be
delighted to join you at Crossroads Keep, and trust me, you'll be just as
happy to have him.
However, weapons alone do not make a soldier, so head out to Highcliff and
hire Edario the armourer as well.
As the last thing, we'll head out to the merchant district of Neverwinter.
Remember how Deekin complained that he couldn't get a proper shop? Offer him a
shop at your keep and he'll be more than happy to join you.
We're done travelling - for now, at least - so head back to Crossroads Keep.
It's time to get some work done.

You'll notice that the miners and Orlen haven't arrived yet, so head on in
to the courtyard, order #3 from Veedle, then go inside the keep and talk to
Kana. Let her have Katriona assist with training the greycloaks, and get a
report for the keep. For me, 5% of time had passed at this point. Head down
to the cellar and have a chat with Kistrel. Seems he's making something for
you.
Ask wolf's minion to take you to the fields. Have a chat with Orlen if you
wish, but our primary concern is Calindra the miner. Talk with her, and tell
her you found some new ore deposits. That'll net you 2000g as well as give
your keep access to all the ore we've found so far.
With that amount of resources to our disposal, let's go back to the courtyard
and talk to Edario and Jacoby. Time to improve the equipment of our greycloaks.
Edario will give you an armor of comfort as payment for you building the smithy
for him. Talk to him about equipping your soldiers, and make sure that everyone
gets at least SOME sort of armour. Do the same with Jacoby to ensure that your
greycloaks also have a weapon of some sort.

Order Veedle to build #4, then go see if Deekin has settled in properly. Sell
anything you've kept so far since Deekin will pay up to 20.000g for any given
item and you'll need the cash now.
Head back out to the farms and talk to Calindra to get some ingot samples from
the veins you've found, and have a chat with Orlen while you're there. Seems
the place is starting to shape up, eh?
Back into the courtyard, talk to Edario and Jacoby and pay up for a second
upgrade for both. With this, you'll end up with greycloaks geared in studded
leather armour and longswords.
Talk to Veedle and build #5, then enter the keep. You'll encounter a band of
"adventurers" who need work. Ask Kana if she has anything, and they'll skip
off to Port Llast to investigate a Luskan plot. Don't worry, you haven't seen
the last of those folks.
Let's go have a look at all those new areas we've built inside the keep. First
go to the War Room and grab the crossroads keep key from the desk, then go to
the library and loot the place of scrolls and books - they're all cash, and
they're all yours after all. Talk to Aldanon for any lore questions. You'll
also get the sidequest reactivating the construct by grabbing a book from the
case in here. Now let's check your private quarters. Inside the cabinet there
you'll find a bag of holding. Congratulations, free loot :P.

Head on out to the courtyard again, order Veedle to build #6 and talk to both
smiths to do a third upgrade of your greycloak's gear. Head out to the farms
to make time pass, then ask Edario for a final upgrade. He'll tell you that
there's not enough ore to do so. Guess we'll have to wait until we've found a
few more ore veins around the world. Head out to Veedle and order #7, then go
inside the keep and talk to Kana.
NOTE: Try checking out how the guards around the complex look now. Quite
different compared to when we first arrived, yes? :P

She will inform you that Torio, that annoying Luskan, has been captured, and
that she has been sentenced to death but Nevalle interfered and asked that you
should decide her fate. Tell Kana that you want her to come to the Keep. Torio
is, after all, a woman who joins up with winners, and her skills may very well
prove useful. Also, if you ever want the mage tower, you'll have to have her.
Ask Kana for a report. It should say something like this:
Time passed: 15%. Merchants: 17. Peasants: 14. Greycloaks: 50. Training: Best.
Armor: Good. Weapons: Best.

Leave the chat and talk to Kana again, she'll have a special mission available
for the greycloaks. Make sure they handle it, and Kana will leave to sort out
the details. Head back outside and have Veedle build #8.
Back into the keep, chat with Kana again. She'll first tell you that those
adventurers have sent a letter from Port Llast. Go ahead and read it. Ask for a
report on the keep, then talk to her again to get a report from the special
misison. Due to their equipment and training, the greycloaks easily swatted
those bandits. You'll get a nice amulet as reward from the peasants for your
help. Feel free to chat with her about everything, then ask for a report once
more. It should now say 17% time passed.

Head back out and order #9 from Veedle, then go back in and talk to Kana. The
adventurers have returned! After much fun about apples, ask them if they know
anything about the King of Shadows, and they'll skip off again in search of
clues, adventure and riches. Oh, and to help the citizens of Neverwinter, of
course.
Talk to Kana again, and she'll tell you of special mission #2: Doman the Ogre.
Order your soldiers to take care of this vile threat to the safety of your
lands, then head outside and order Veedle to build #10. Finally we're starting
to build fortifications!

Go back inside. You have another visitor, this time it's a halfling from the
village of Leeves. Seems the bandits you've been driving out have found new
hunting grounds. It's up to you how you'll handle this, really, but be advised
that every choice has a consequence - the exact numbers are listed in
xInfInIty's guide. Sending half your men out to wait for the bandits gives you
+1 good.

Head outside once more, and order Veedle to build #11, then go back inside.
Katriona has a proposition for you now - to form an elite squad called the
Captain's Company. Again, it's up to you how you go about this, and once more
the exact numbers are listed in xInfInIty's guide.
Forming the Company to uphold the law gives +1 lawful, to protect the people
gives +1 good. 
Ask Kana for a report. It should say time passed: 25%.

Head back outside and have Veedle build #12. At this point I had 70,000gp left
so thankfully there's nothing more to build for now. Go back inside and talk
to Kana. She'll tell you that "the man are tasked to capacity". This basically
means that nothing more will really happen at the keep for now.
Order Kana and Katriona to focus on recruiting more greycloaks, and then it's
time to leave this place to itself for a little while. First, however, head
down in the basement and chat with Kistrel to get the cloak he's been
making for you. It's quite decent, actually.

Before heading out, make sure to visit the two smiths and gear up Zhjaeve since
she's a required member of your party for the next part - it's time to do that
ritual of purification Zhjaeve talked about earlier, so prep up and make sure
you got the party you want, then head out to the Ruins of Arvahn.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.12] - Ruins of Arvahn
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the way to the ruins, you'll encounter a peasant being hunted by some other
humans. As always, your call what to do, saving the peasant gives +3 good and
a tiny (very tiny) bit of loot. Regardless of your choice, keep going to the
ruins.

After a brief cutscene in which it seems West Harbor has yet again come under
attack, head a bit up the road and take out the orcs and goblins fighting each
other. Once they're killed, activate the statue. That'll give you a nifty new
special ability called Aurora Chain. Let's hope all five statues give stuff
like that, eh? ;)

Anyway, head straight south and you'll encounter a camp of friendly orcs. Yep,
this game has everything. A friendly kobold, a friendly giant spider and now
also friendly orcs. Or, well, sorta friendly at least. Their leader happens to
be the brother of one of the orcs we killed back at Old Owl Well, and now he
wants our help. Seems some ogres nearby have been annoying him, so he wants us
to kill them. If you don't agree to do it, the orc camp here will attack you.
If you do agree, however, the camp will act as a safe spot.
NOTE: Agree to the quest for now. You can always kill these orcs later, and
why would you kill them before getting the XP reward for the quest?
Also here, you can talk to Ilrah Broken-Ribs. Asking him why he's called that
and then answering with "well done", at least my fighter/dragon disciple
ended up getting one of his ribs. While that may sound rather disgusting, it
really is worth it. It gives you blind-fight and toughness as bonus feats
just for having it in your inventory.

Have a look at your map now. We know there are five statues all in all. We've
already found one of 'em, and lo and behold, there's four points of interest.
Let's take a wild guess and say there's a statue in each place, yeah?

Before we head into either of those four places, however, I'd suggest to clear
out any and all hostile thingies in this area. It's only orcs, ogres and
goblins, so no big deal regardless.
NOTE: The next three areas can be done in any order you wish, there's no special
advantage in doing 'em in the order I chose, although it'll make sense to do
the Riverguard Keep first due to the orc quests. Also note that the Song Portal
can only be done last.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.13] - Riverguard Keep
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon entering, you'll see a sarcophagus. Seems it's already been looted. How
rude, taking the loot from the dead. It's not in your journal, but it could be
considered sort of a sidequest - we'll get to it eventually.
In the southeast corner of this room is a locked door. That's your shortcut
back up again, so we'll get there eventually.

Go up the northern hallway. Just after it turns west you'll see a door to the
north - open it, kill the baddies, grab the loot, then return to the hallway
and the door to the south. In there you'll find the bugbear Ralidor. He is just
as tired of the ogres as the orcs are, so he'll order his bugbears to leave if
you agree so with him.
You could of course kill him here and now, but if you wait, he'll have more
bugbears to help him, which means more xp and loot for you. We'll finish this
one once we leave the place again regardless.
Explore the rest of the level, killing ogres and goblins as you find them. Once
everything's cleared, proceed to level 2.

Down here it's same procedure as last level - kill anything that moves and
make sure to grab all the loot. You'll soon see four doors - two to the left
and two to the right. Take the left (western) ones first. kill the ogre chief
in there. Make sure to loot his remains for the Master's Shield. Then take the
eastern door that's closest to the stairs down. Finally, open the last door and
meet Bonesmasher, an orc monk. Release him for 100xp or kill him for 91xp and
some loot, your choice. The reason we take this room last is that if you
release him, he'll go beserk down here, kill anything that moves and smash all
chests, destroying loot we want to keep.
Once done, proceed to level 3, the final level.

Nobody down here is hostile, at least not right now, so feel free to explore
the sidedoors and loot everything. Once you reach Ghellu, you'll have a few
options. You can accept a counter-quest from Ghellu to kill the orcs and the
bugbears, or you can simply kill Ghellu right away. Be advised tho, it's a
rather big fight, so make sure you're buffed up before fighting him. Make sure
you loot him for his head as well as the Master's Scepter.
Now, the reason we're here is that statue thingie, and there are a few ways to
open the door to get to it. The simplest one being to simply keep trying until
the wards run out of power. It'll hurt, but it works. If you killed Ralidor
you'll have all three pieces of the Master's gear and the door will open by
itself. If you didn't, however, you could always go up and outside, kill him,
and go back down.

Either case, however you get the door opened, you'll end up talking with
another statue. This one will give you the Shining Shield special ability.

Once you go outside, you'll meet Ralidor again. You can either tell him the
ogre mage is dead, or fight him. I'd suggest the latter since there's no
reward in keeping him alive, and bugbears are evil creeps regardless. He's got
a LOT of bugbears with him, but a few well-placed AoE spells from Qara and/or
Zhjaeve will make short work of them all.
Make sure to loot the remains when he's dead for the Master's Sword.

Return to the orcs and tell 'em you've killed the ogre bugger for 1500xp. Now,
if you'd like to kill these orcs as well, simply speak with Ilrah, the other
named one here, and insult his religion. Ilrah does have a journal entry as
well. Apparently you'll loose your left foot in a fight at some point. Guess
we'll have to wait and see about that. Be sure to loot the remains for some
nifty items, including a really nice cleric necklace.

Head on out to the next place - the Temple of Seasons

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.14] - The Temple of Seasons
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon entering, Zhjaeve will tell you this is the right place. Let's thank her
for stating the obvious, shall we? In any case, click the statue and be told
that this place is dedicated to four Illefarn fellas. Buff up with some cold
resistance and proceed through the door.

In this first room there's a book on a pillar. Read the book, flip the pages
and begin the Trial of Winter. Several waves of winter wolves and ice mephits
will attack you. Slaughter them all.
Proceed through the newly opened door to get to the Book of Spring. 4 Hunter
Statues and 4 earth elementals will spawn once you start the trial. Kill them
in any way you see fit to complete this trial.
Continue north and enter the room of summer. Start the trial and kill the iron
golem that spawns to complete this one.
The final trial, spring, is even easier. Whack the sylphs.
Go through the final door to find this place's statue - this one will give you
the Cleansing Nova special ability.
Remember to loot the four chests as well.

With this done, head out to the next area, the Gem Mine.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.15] - The Gem Mine
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You'll encounter a few iron golems in this place. Easiest way to take
those out is to simply equip adamantine weapons since they bypass all damage
reduction. If you haven't got any of those, best be prepared for some rather
long fights.

Once inside, a spirit named Balaur will talk to you and tell you loads of
interesting things. For the task at hand, however, only two things matters:
We need to gather 6 spirits at the tree to access the statue, and we need to
shut down the ghost lights to make the spirits able to get to the tree. Loot
the book cases for a bunch of scrolls, then exit north and whack the first
spirit. Talk to him, and ask him to follow you to the tree that's just north
of you.

Backtrack a bit, and go through the eastern door. Go all the way east, clearing
rooms and killing off undead as you encounter them. You'll soon find a few
more spirits. Make sure you ask them everything for backstory, then guide them
toward the tree by deactivating the ghost lights on the route you want them to
go and activating the lights behind them so they don't turn around. Basically,
they'll go anywhere that's not closed by ghost lights, and usually they'll
try to avoid going toward the tree unless they're forced that way.
Speak to them to make them move, by the way.

There's two spirits in the bright eastern area, and one more in the very east
section of the more catacombish area in the south. Once you've found all three
of 'em and led them back to the tree, head on out to the western section.

In the northwest corner you'll find a smithy with workbenches. Guess you might
as well use your time properly and find out if you can make anything cool yet.
Also a good place to make adamantine weapons if you have the resources and wish
to do so. What's more important here, however, is the rune-inscribed iron
piece. Keep that one, we'll need it to reactivate the Construct.

Keep exploring the entire area, killing off undead and talking to spirits as
you go. Once you've cleared out everything, return to the tree to watch a
short cutscene and get the Soothing Light special ability.

Four down, one to go. Once you go outside here, you'll notice that the strange
dias has been activated, and Zhjaeve tells you that's where the last statue
is. Well, let's head out, shall we?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.16] - The Song Portal
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon entering the portal, you'll be sent to West Harbor. Or, what's left of it.
If you have Neeshka along, she'll tell you that it smells of demons, even a
devil or two, so stay alert.
Explore the area. Only one thing of note here, besides all your dead friends,
a scarred spot that Zhjaeve will tell you is quite important. Head on out to
the ruins. You know, those ruins we found way back when we were happy little
low-levels running around with Bevin. I even told you they'd be important later
on ;)
The swamp itself is rather empty except for a single crate that has a bit of
loot in it, so feel free to run straight through up to the ruins. The ruins you
entered the first time are closed off, so head for those mystic ruins that
Bevil told you had been locked forever.
Buff up before entering. Once you go inside, you'll have a little chat with a
shadow reaver. The plot thickens, seems others are doing the same as us, eh?
Defeat the baddies, loot the bodies and go through the portal in the back of
the room. Then, it's back to Crossroads Keep.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.17] - Stronghold part 2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sell all your loot to Deekin - if he runs out, use Edario or Jacoby since they
also pay up to 20,000gp for an item. Then head inside the keep and have a chat
with Kana. Seems those crazy adventurers have reported back about their search
for the King of Shadows. Do read the note, it's both hilarious and informative
in it's own strange way.

Now, let's go to the cellar and have a little chat with Grobnar about that
Construct thingie. Hand in the two items you've found so far and he'll tell
you it "needs a little more". (I do this simply to get rid of the items in my
inventory - I hate dragging stuff around :P). 

Go back upstairs and talk to Kana again. She now has a report on the soldiers
we sent to that halfling village some time ago (if we sent some, that is). In
my case it was a bloody fight, but we won. Good riddance to those bandits I
say.

Now let's go chat with Aldanon like Zhjaeve suggested. Hm, after all that chat
about dragons, liches, Amn and the Underdark, we just get a map. I feel kinda
sad, wouldn't mind a trip to the Underdark myself - killing Drow is an old
favorite of mine. Come to think of it, all of the above was a part of good
old Baldur's Gate 2. Wonder if it's an easter egg of sorts?

Right, it's time to spend some time at the Keep itself. During this time,
several things may happen  (or will happen, I'm not sure how regular these
things are. If they're random there's a chance they won't show up).

Keep your men on recruitment until Kana says that you have a lot of soldiers.
At that point, order your greycloaks to patrol the road and land, and at the
same time lower your recruitment standards considerably. xInfInIty suggests
lowering it all the way down, but it's up to you really. I chose to lower my
standards gradually over time.
Once the road and land security reached average or higher, you can start
putting taxes on merchants and farmers. I chose light taxes since I'm a really
nice character (I'm a paladin after all).

Special Missions:
1. The result of the mission about the Ogre fella you sent your men on last
time. If your folks succeeded, you'll get 3000gp and a magic club.
2. Tax collectors are to be sent out. If you aren't tithing anyone, there's
no need to send out men for this.
3. Bugbears have moved in. Feel free to order your men to take care of it.
4. The Mere of Dead Men has undeads crawling close to our borders. Again, let
your soldiers handle it.

Cutscenes:
1. Ziffer the bailor wants to start a new village. With high appraise or
diplomacy skill, you'll be able to tithe the village rather well. In any case
you should sign the charter since it means more men in your area - and that
means more money for you.
2. Dobbson's been accepting bribery. Do what feels right, but according to
xInfInIty, the only ones that are only +'es for you is to either consider it a
grey area or the "we shouldn't blindly follow the laws.." one. The other
choices all come with a cost.
3. Travelling merchants - a choice between either of the three. Consult 
xInfInIty's guide for details on this.
4. A band of mercenaries are looking for a job and wants to join your
greycloaks. Allow them to do so, they're good soldiers, and your troops will
assimilate them soon enough.

At some point after this, Kana will tell you that Lord Nasher has requested to
see you. This marks the end of the keep stuff in chapter 2. However, we have
something to do before we go chat with ol' Nasher - to locate, and enter, Amon
Jerro's Haven, so that's where we'll be going next.

To sum up, this is how my Keep Report looked at this point in the game:

GENERAL
Time Passed: 62%
Keep Funds: 77702gp
Income: 11422gp
Recruits: 62
Merchants: 67
Peasants: 75
Peasant Civility: High
Morale: Very High

GREYCLOAKS:
Number: 336
Volunteers: 176
Recruits: 62
Greycloak Civility: High
Training: Best of the Best
Unit Strenght: Average
Weapons: Best
Armor: Good
Last Special Mission: Mere of Dead Men

SECURITY:
Fortifications: Reinforced Towers
Land Security: Very High
Road Security: Very High
Road Condition: Renovated with watch towers

At this point, if you haven't already, I'd suggest to lower your recruitment
standards to accepting everyone, even former criminals. Also, it might be an
idea to raise your taxes to Nasher standard at least, considering your lands
are some of the safest in the entire realm.

On your way out, feel free to have a look around. Much has changed even since
you arrived from the Ritual. More workers, more greycloaks and more folks all
around in general. Your work and money has paid off, it would seem, and you're
even starting to MAKE money now.

Anyhow, Amon Jerro's Haven awaits us, so let us head out. Pick your favorite
group for this, since this will be a fight-heavy section. Also, before you head
out, you should know that a large part of the coming sections will be fought
SOLO. Yes, ZERO companions. In other words, you'll need the best gear you can
get - and something to open locks if you're not able to do so yourself. The
Chime of Opening from Raylene in the Docks is one option for this.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.18] - Amon Jerro's Haven - Exterior
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once you're all set, head out to Amon Jerro's Haven since it's now on your map
thanks to Aldanon.
After seeing the cutscene and hearing Shandra's surprised remarks, have a look
around. There's quite a few shadow mastiffs and gargoyles here, so let's start
out by removing those. Clear the area around the three braziers, then head out
for the Jerro Guardian.
Once you approach, you'll be informed that Guyven will be interested in hearing
about this place - I assume that's only if you've talked to him at Crossroad
Keep.
Talk to the Guardian to find out that you'll have to do three trials to be
allowed to enter the place. Obviously, nothing is ever easy, eh? Remember to
ask the Guardian about all three trials before you leave him again, otherwise
you won't have the quests. Well, let's go do those trials then.

Head back down to the braziers - plenty of fire elementals there now, so whack
all of 'em. Loot 'em for fiery hearts, then go touch the braziers one at a
time. Do note that once you activate a brazier, a few shadow creatures will
spawn, but it's nothing you shouldn't be able to handle.
Once you're ready to activate the third brazier, you'll be lacking a fiery
heart, so look a bit around, pretty close to the brazier you should be able to
see a few fire elementals - they're around that yellow spot on your map. Go
kill, loot and activate the last brazier to complete the path of sight.

Right at the last brazier, there's also a road going up a hill. Remember how
the Guardian told about a barbarian on a hill? Well, that's the hill, so let's
head up and kill that barbarian.
There's a few different ways to do it, but the optimal way, pure metagame
wise is to initially refuse to kill him, then change your mind and attack
him. That gives you both +INF with Shandra and the loot the barbarian is
packing. Another way of doing it is to refuse killing him all the way through,
which will end up with you fighting a bunch of spirits instead.
Either way, path of righteousness completed.

Head down the hill again, and go north to the geyser. When you get close,
Shandra will have a short dialogue. At that point, order your party to stand
their ground, and head out to fill the vial alone.
Go straight for the big geyser, taking whatever damage you get. At the geyser
you can use either dexterity or tumble to grab the water. If you fail any of
the checks you'll just take a bunch of damage, so it's no big deal really.
Congratulations on completing the path of determination.

Head back to the Guardian. BEFORE you talk to it, remove ALL of Shandra's
equipment and dump it on one of your other characters. The bag of holding
from the keep should do the trick nicely. Then tell the guardian you've
completed all the paths and a cutscene will show Shandra being teleported
to, well, who knows.

Also, before you enter, this is the last chance in a wee while to craft items
and set up your main character for some solo business if you haven't already.

When you're fully ready, make a completely fresh full save, then enter.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[2.19] - Amon Jerro's Haven - Interior
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon entering, you'll be greeted by Mephasm who'll tell you all about what's
going on in this place. Or, well, as much as he's allowed to tell in any case.
So, we got our mission, to convince three demons/devils to assist Mephasm in
opening a portal to the laboratory.

Let's make a little list of hellspawn here:
Baalbisan - fairly easy to make him help you. However, helping Baalbisan makes
 it impossible to get Hezebel to help you.
Hezebel - requires good taunt skill, otherwise impossible.
Zaxis - utterly impossible.
Koraboros - Fairly easy to make this one help you.
Blooden - Also fairly easy.

NOTE: If you have Neeshka with you, she'll be extremely active here. This is,
after all, kind of her home-turf.

Anyhow, there's more to it than that, obviously, so let's walk through the door
in Mephasm's room to get started.
Be greeted by Baalbisan as you enter. Neeshka will have a lot of hilarious
dialogue here, and if you're a female character, you'll have to talk to it
twice to get his quest - The Torment of Baalbisan. It's very, very simple. Go
kill Hezebel's erinyes, then return, and you're done. Proceed north. A few of
those erinyes wants you to come with them to their master, Hezebel. However,
I chose to simply kill them right away. I'm not a big fan of discussing things
with sneaky succubi.
Once you've killed the three erinyes, take the western door and loot it dry.
plenty of pretties in there.
Go into Hezebel's room, get her quest for Baalbisan's mother's true name, then
talk to her again and say you decided to help Baalbisan instead to have her
summon out two more erinyes. Once they're dead, return to Baalbisan to relay
the good news.
If you want to do it the Hezebel way, go straight back to Baalbisan and taunt
him into saying it, then return to Hezebel and tell her. With a massive bluff
check, you might also be able to lie to Hezebel, but I'm not too sure about
that.

Either way, proceed out of Hezebel's room. After a brief cutscene, you'll get
to Zaxis. There's no way  you'll get him to help you since he kinda holds a
grudge on you after you defeated him at Tavorick's Estate, so simply kill his
minions and move on.
Head straight left through the trapped door, kill the hostiles and loot the
place dry. Open the other door as well and loot the place in there. Ignore the
non-hostile imp for now, we'll get back to that one soon.
Proceed forward, whacking the doggies. Talk to the dear pit fiend, Koraboras,
and find out that the imp we just saw is his and that he wants it to return
to him.
Return to the imp, and try to talk to it. Seems it wants something from the
bookcase, so if you didn't loot it before, loot it now. Use the ancient book
you found on yourself, reading the Tilu Ut Lon sentence. That frees the imp,
so return to Koraboras to get him to assist you.
Apparently this book is very valuable, so hold on to it, and proceed forward.

Meet Blooden, your average run-of-the-mill succubus. First she tries to trick
Khelgar, then she summons a few more succubi to attack you, and then she asks
you to have Koraboras attack her with his hellhounds again - at least that made
the time spent here in imprisonment interesting.
So, return to Koraboras, ask him to consider the threat of Blooden combining
forces with Zaxis, and he'll give you two nassian war hounds. Return to Blooden
and choose a side to fight on. No matter what, once the fight's over, the
quest will be completed.

Once Blooden's opened the portal, make sure you've done what has to be done,
and that your character is fully ready for the solo part of the game.
When ready, step through the portal.

After a brief cutscene, the warlock will attack. You have all in all 6 targets
to attack. 4 weird thingies, the warlock himself, and a lesser horned devil.
For maximum profit, make sure you kill the devil before you take down the
warlock.
Defeat him, and watch the cutscenes unfold. Once they're done, feel free to
chat away with Amon, but make sure you don't lose influence with him. Basically
that means you'll have to take a few evil points here and there. Don't worry
too much tho, it shouldn't be enough to push you away from lawful good if you
are a paladin. You can gain or lose 2 INF with him during this conversation.
One in the chat about Zhjaeve. If you say you respect her, you lose 1 INF, if
you say she has her uses, you gain 1 INF. The other point is where you talk
about sacrificing the few to save the many. Agreeing with him gains 1 INF, and
disagreeing with him loses 1 INF.

Once you've done all the talking you want, head for the door and talk to Sir
Nevalle to start chapter 3.

===============================================================================
CHAPTER Three
===============================================================================

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.1] - Defending Neverwinter
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Congratulations, you're now a knight of Neverwinter. And you have work to do,
so get started on killing all those pesky undead. That Cleansing Nova ability
you got works like a charm here by the way.
NOTE: Your weapon and your cloak has been switched out for a Knight's Cloak and
a Neverwinter Ceremonial Blade, so make sure you double-check your gear before
starting the carnage.

Once the attack stops, follow Sir Nevalle to the guard room. This is by the way
your chance to sort out your equipment, spells and so forth. Feel free to rest
before you go to Nevalle.

At Nevalle, you'll be informed of a passage through to Lord Nasher that leads
through Neverneath, the dungeon below Castle Never. The entrance has always
been closed, but of course legend has it that it'll open when Neverwinter is in
danger. In other words, you'll be running off to investigate an old rumour.

From the guard room, go a bit north, then take the first path to the east. On
the north side of that you'll find a door - that's the route you gotta take.
Keep following the road, killing off hostiles as you find them. When you reach
the room with 3 shadow priests, locate the clickable tapestry and go through.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.2] - Neverneath
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You'll be in a long tunnel, so start moving. You'll soon encounter a statue
that's warning you of lots of dangers for people not of Neverwinter and so
forth. Move forward. You'll be fighting groups of fire or ice mephits all the
way through here. Great cleave works wonders, but I'd guess that aoe spells
like fireball, isaac's missile storm or horrid wilting will be quite fun as
well.

The second statue, however, has a question for you. There's no REAL consequence
of answering falsely, but you'll end up being forced to fight some tough
buggers that give little to no XP where you COULD have gotten 200xp for each
correct answer. Thus, the right answers are given here:
First statue: no question
Second statue: Nine fingers.
Third Statue: Black Lake
Fourth Statue: Tomb of Betrayers.
Fifth Statue: Neverwinter River.
Sixth Statue: Say Nothing.
Seventh Statue: Three.

At the eight statue, the game changes. Here you must declare your loyalty to
Neverwinter. If you refuse, a group of magic swords will attack you, if you
lie you get chaotic points, obviously, and if you simply declare loyalty, the
door will open.

Finally, you'll need to go around the statues and approach the grave from the
north. Loot the grave to get the Rod of Never and a magic thingie. Notice the
locked chests down here by the way? This is why we brough that chime of opening
if we aren't rogues. Start looting.
When you leave the room, you'll once more get a "Guyven will be interested"
dialogue if you have Guyven at Crossroad Keep. Proceed forward, however, we
have a Nasher to save.

Once you've taken out the shadow reaver, Nasher will knight you and give you
your next assignment. Or, assignments. You'll first need to gather allies, then
kill all the shadow reavers and then find the stronghold of the King of Shadows
as well as the means by which to kill him.
In other words, the fate of the world is now officially in your hands. Did you
really think it would end in any other way? ;)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.3] - Stronghold part 3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the cutscene, you'll arrive at Crossroad Keep, with all your companions
spread out in front of you. Walk a wee closer and watch the cutscene unfold.
So there you have it. We'll need to open up dialogue with Clan Ironfist, the
Lizardmen and the Wendersnaven as well as ask Aldanon for advice. I can't help
but think that we're seriously screwed :P

With the cutscene done, head over to the ruined tower and talk to Bevil. Seems
he finally came to his senses and want a piece of the action. He'll join the
army as a sergeant. Talk to him until you don't get any new dialogue options,
and make sure you are really nice to him since he becomes better if you are.

Proceed up to Veedle. You'll now be able to rebuild the church and the tower.
However, there's two options for each:
For the church, you can either go with Ivarr the Blessed or Master Rolan of the
Sun Soul. Basically, if you're not a monk character, I'd suggest going with
Ivarr's church since that's the ONLY way to get the Holy Avenger (either for
you or for Casavir).
The tower is either headquarters for the Neverwinter Nine or a Mage tower.
Well, this choice is even more obvious - are you a melee character go with
the nine, are you an arcane caster, go with the mage tower.
Once Veedle has been put to work, proceed to the Keep itself. Sand will pull
you into the library (which has been built even if you didn't order it back
in chapter 2), and soon enough Aldanon will arrive talking about portals,
the tome of Ilkazar and blade golems.

Go see Kana, you have some stuff to catch up on after all. The crazy troupe of
adventurers is back. Tell them about how the King of Shadows was once the
guardian of the Illefarn Empire and that.. well, that's as much as you get to
say.

Now before we talk to Kana, let's go tell Guyven about the two new places we
found. When you've done that, he'll tell you of a buried secret right here in
the Keep. I know, you're itching to go there right away, but first we have a
lot to discuss with Kana.
We'll need to give Bevil a job, so order him to patrol the roads to encourage
more merchants to use it - he has a way with people, Kana agrees. Do note,
once you've assigned him, he cannot be reassigned, and patrolling the roads
is what Bevil does best.

Talk to Kana again right away, and she'll tell you about a war levy Lord Nasher
has imposed. Paying it all yourself will obviously be the good choice, while
ordering it as high as possible will be the evil choice. The two in between
has no alignment changes.

If you want the Mage Tower, you'll have to chat with Torio now, otherwise go
back outside and, if you want the Nine Headquarters, order Veedle to build it
right away - after you've discussed it with Sir Nevalle, of course. Once you
have built whichever you chose, feel free to pass time and visit the place. It
will pay off, there's some good equipment to be had, at least if you make it a
Nine Headquarter - Red Dragon Armor is one of the more interesting items you
can buy for a relatively cheap price.

Going down to the courtyard, you'll meet Daeghun. He's got some information
about the Circle of the Mere - the druid circle Elanee belongs to. After the
cutscene, feel free to go check out the church/monastery.

Talk to Nevalle again and ask if there's something he can teach you. He'll
spar with you, which gives you a small bonus to your base attack. I'm guessing
+1, but haven't confirmed that.

Go back inside and talk to Kana once more. You'll get another note from that
foolish band of adventurers along with a ring of positive thinking. It's a
bit special, but useful nonetheless.

Now this would be a rather perfect time to sort out the gear of all your
companions - and yourself, of course. You probably have stuff to sell, and if
you've dabbled a bit in crafting with some of your companions, their skills
will be around the point where we can start making the really nifty stuff.

To do that, however, we need gems of the kind we haven't found too many of yet.
There's help ahead tho, so head out to the merchant quarter in Neverwinter.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.4] - Merchant Quarter
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon arriving here, you'll see that the evacuation is well underway. But, you
will also notice a powerful-looking female character standing fairly close to
you - she's called Light of Heavens, and if you talk to her, she'll challenge
you to a duel. Make sure you win it. When you do that, she'll walk away. Don't
worry, you haven't seen the last of her.

Head up north to Randolph the merchant. He's got few interesting items, but he
has quite a few of the really interesting gems. Buy whichever you need for your
crafting session.

Right next to Randolph, you'll see Joy the dancer. Talk to her and hire her for
your keep's inn.

If you need/want to craft, return to the basement of Crossroad Keep, otherwise
feel free to continue forward.

Now, the next series of areas can be done in whichever order you wish. We have
much to do and little time in which to do it, but two of our main three tasks
can't be done yet regardless, so we need to find ourselves some allies. We've
got a few options already: Clan Ironfist, the Wendersnaven, the lizardmen and
the circle of the mere. Myself, I followed the advice from gamespot's guide, so
I took 'em in this order: Wendersnaven, lizardfolk, druids, ironfists.
NOTE: I'll add a few Crossroad Keep things in the end of each chapter as they
are relevant, so it might be a good idea to read a bit ahead in case there's
things you want to do differently.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.5] - Alliance: Wendersnaven
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOTE: You HAVE to have Grobnar in your party for this one, obviously, since it
is his idea and all that.
So, with Grobnar along, head out for Port Llast.

Close to the entrance of Port Llast, you'll find Light of the Heavens again.
Like last time, talk to her and engage in a 1on1 duel. And win it, of course.

Anyhow, remember those two nutters talking about Wendersnaven? Yup, that's the
two we need to go have a chat with. Listen to them for a bit until Grobnar
tells you to ask them a question. Ask them whether the Wendersnaven are east of
here. Then if it's northeast. Then ask if you can have the map, and finally if
you can SEE the map. Grobnar will decode it and point you towards a new place.
Well, go there (It's the "strange clearing" on your world map).

Once there, watch the cutscenes unfold - and notice that this is another one
of those places Guyven would want to hear about.
After the cutscene a group of orcs will attack. Kill 'em, loot 'em and be
sure to remember to click the ore deposit that's here as well. We do need more
ore for our soldiers after all.

When it's all over, check out Grobnar's inventory. Wonder if he's right or
wrong now, eh? :P

Head back to Crossroad Keep to see Light of Heavens standing around between
the world transition and the quarry. Go fight her one last time. to earn her as
a sergeant. Then go tell Calindra of the new ore deposit you found. Then head
all the way south, up against the wall. There you'll find a dirt mound with a
nifty crossbow - if you talked to Guyven that is.
Go inside the keep and tell Guyven of the new place you found, then talk to
Kana and put Light of Heavens on some duty - xInfInIty suggests recruiting.
Kana will mention some Luskan Business, which means you've reached a storyline
stop. We don't have time for that yet, however, so move out to the exit, grab
the party you want, and head for Highcliff.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.6] - Alliance: Lizardmen
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon arrival you'll see the lizardmen attacking Gera and her husband, so save
their poor family a third time to become hero of the day - and be told that
the lizardmen have besieged Highcliff. Best get moving, we have a town to save!
First, however, grab the ore in this area. (I missed this one first time
around, don't repeat my mistake :P).

In Highcliff, head straight for Elder Mayne and ask him everything. So the
lizardmen have simply taken this town hostage. Wonder why, eh, so let's go have
a little chat with the lizardman prisoner they've got.
Patch up his wounds if you want to get any information out of him. Seems Batha
is the new boss, and he's been "dancing with the shadow". Gods, everything is
tied to the King of Shadows these days..

Head on out to the south end of town - either Slaan (if you let him live back
in chapter 1) or a random lizardman will take you to Batha. After some chatting
back and forth, it'll end up in a fight.
Once Batha goes down to near dead, he'll change into an earth elemental, and
a group of lizardmen will assist him. Whack whatever you want - when he goes
down again, he yields. Have a chat with him, have him read your mind, and he
will see the real enemy. From there the rest is easy - they will march with
the people of highcliff to Crossroad Keep and fight alongside the rest of us
against the King of Shadows.
On the way back into Highcliff, make sure you take a stop by the coastline.
Many chests with much loot to grab ;)

Take a fast stop at Crossroad Keep to adjust your party for the next area:
Bishop must NOT be in it and Elanee has to be along - once you're sorted, head
out to the Circle of the Mere.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.7] - Alliance: Circle of the Mere
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bishop will join you when you arrive. Watch the cutscene to see just how
insane the Circle has become. In the end, an influence check with Elanee seems
to decide whether she helps you kill the druids or if she joins them in the
fight against you. Any information on this will be welcome, I've only seen a
succesful INF check.

Kill the druids, loot the remains and return to Crossroad Keep to sell all the
stuff we've found in the past three areas.

Also, before heading out to the Clan Ironfist area, make sure you get the
quest from the church of Tyr at Crossroad Keep if you're a Paladin. I'm not
sure if it's enough to simply have Casavir in the party to get the quest - any
input here would be great. The quest ultimately ends with getting the Holy
Avenger, one of the best weapons in the game, but it's Paladin-only I'm afraid.
It may also only be available after you've gotten the map entry for mount
Galardrym - I'll update asap.

Either way, you need Khelgar along for this one (shouldn't be a surprise), so
adjust your party and head out.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.8] - Alliance: Clan Ironfist
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On arrival, chat with Khayar to find out that Keros, the chieftain of the Clan
has come to the stronghold - and Khelgar doesn't have a very good past with
that bloke. That might complicate things.

Head into Revorax's smithy before proceeding though, you just might find some
nifty items there, if you can afford it, that is.

When done, continue through the place, going for the throne room. Unfortunately
Keros is not really in a cooperative mood, especially not towards Khelgar, or
Neverwinter for that matter. After the cutscene, Khulmar will talk to you about
the hammer of Ironfist. Seems we'll need the belt of Ironfist to wield it tho,
and that belt is now in the posession of a group of fire elementals.

Right then, make sure you have fire resistance gear on all your people, then
head out for Mount Galardrym.

After the cutscene, head west on the path. When it splits up, continue west.
You'll soon come upon a camp of fire giants, kill 'em all, loot the chests and
be sure to grab the ore deposit there as well.

Backtrack to the point where it split, and take the northeast route this time.
Keep following the path until you see another fire giant camp to the east. Go
in there and slaugther the lot - and, of course, grab the loot. Get back on the
path and head west. You'll soon come to a quite larger camp. Chat with the
prisoners first to get a side-quest to kill the giants, and then go kill 'em.
Be sure to grab the ore deposit at the far western end of the main camp. Loot
all the chests, go back to the prisoners and have a word with 'em.
Seems they're Luskanites sent out to assess whether the King of Shadows is a
threat to Luskan as well, or if he's only a problem for Neverwinter. These
folks have realized that he's a serious threat to everyone tho, and want to 
return to tell the Hosttower exactly that. I released them - we need allies,
even Luskan would help.

Now, there's two parties up here on top of the mountain - the fire giants and a
dragon. Both want the other dead, so you could theoretically join up with one
to kill the others - but where's the fun in that? I say kill both parties and
leave the mountain for Clan Ironfist. To do it the maximum-gain way, go for the
fire giants first. Take the southwestern path out of the main camp here, and
follow it to the end, killing off hostiles as they come. Go to the next area,
the seat of the mountain. Feel free to explore the area, it isn't very large.

Talk to the fire giant king, support Khelgar all the way, but agree to killing
the dragon, initially. Get ready for a big fight, buff up and so forth, then
talk to the king again, saying you've changed your mind. Once the slaughter
has ceased, start lootin'. Be sure to check the treasury in the corner, and
to chat with Caelryna the drow prisoner. He's a merchant who needs a place to
set up shop. Well, you already have a kobold, why not a drow as well, so
invite him to Crossroad Keep - tell him to talk to Uncus to get set up, then
leave this place again.

BUT - there's still the small matter of a dragon around. If you're a paladin,
you REALLY want to kill this one, and even if you're not, it's really, really
worth it to kill it anyways, so let's go kill the dragon now.

Leaving the seat, you'll get a cutscene with Khelgar - be supportive to gain
+INF with him, then head out to the other northern exit. Up here you'll get
another "Guyven will want to hear of this" message as well as see some loose
boulders you can push down. I'm assuming they can be used to make the fight
against the giants down there easier, but I found it quite easy without that
sort of help. (fire immunity as red dragon disciple kinda helps tho).

Anyhoo, rest, buff up, get ready to kill a dragon, basically. When ready,
enter. Talk to her, provoke her, kill her. Approach her hoard and be sure to
say you'll send the greycloaks to fetch all the gold. Then grab all the chests
for yourself. Also make sure you get the ore deposit in the back of the lair.
Right, nothing left to do here - return to the Ironfists.

Head straight for Keros and watch the cutscene. Congratulations - not only did
you get the Ironfists to join you, but you even made Khelgar king!

Go back to Crossroad Keep, we got more work to do.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.9] - Loose Ends and Luskan Plots
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First things first, let's inform our miners that there's ore to be mined in
those recently secured mountains. Once that's done, head into the courtyard and
talk to Edario - have him upgrade the men's armor to chainmail.

Enter the inn, and talk to Sal repeatedly until he says "so how can I help you
today?" At that point, you'll have gotten a ring of the ram from him as thanks
for your amazing work for the keep.

You might also want to go to the merchant shop and check out the new trader's
equipment - might be something interesting, but in any case it's another place
to sell your loot.

Go into the keep and speak with Kana - she'll inform you that the dragon's
hoard has been fetched. This can give very different results - for me it gave
200,000gp but I've also heard "nothing" and 150,000gp. Either way, if you did
it just like me, consider yourself quite rich :P
Organize your men how you see fit - patrolling is never a bad thing. You
should be at 72% time passed.

Now, we did have a Luskan Situation - Kana mentioned it quite a while ago, and
on the way in I bet you also noticed that little Luskan rat standing outside,
yeah? It's finally time to go chat with him, so go outside and talk to
Khralvar. Agree to meet Sydney Natale on their terms, but be prepared for the
worst.
You'll get auto-ported to some foresty place. Before you talk with Khralvar
here, turn to the north and grab the ore deposit. Then chat with him. Sydney
Natale will arrive shortly, along with a mercenary. After a little chat, she
will summon that animus elemental she made back in chapter 1. This time you
get to destroy it though, much to the surprise of Sydney. She'll order her
merc to attack, so be fast and offer twice the pay of her and he'll switch
sides.
Fight ensues - defeat her, keep your new companion alive, and you'll be able
to offer him a job as sergeant at Crossroad Keep once Sydney is dead. Make
sure you loot her for a ring of power.

Right then, now we have the True Names of the shadow reavers. That should
prove useful. And, we've removed Sydney Natale - there's no more Luskans we
know of - Torio is ours, Lorne is dead, Sydney is dead and Black Garius is,
well, not very Luskan anymore.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.10] - Stronghold part 4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When you return to Crossroad Keep, a cutscene with Zhjaeve, you and Ammon will
ensue - here you can decide which of these characters will have the scroll of
True Names. Personally, I chose Zhjaeve since I kinda like having a healer
along, and Qara has the offensive caster spot in my group.

Go out to Calindra and turn in the latest ore-find, then go back into the
courtyard and talk with your newest recruit, Jalboun - he's right next to the
inn. Head on inside the keep and talk to Kana. She'll have a cutscene informing
you where one of the shadow reavers are. Talk to her again straight away, and
she'll tell you that Captain Brelaina has asked for a few men to help her keep
Neverwinter secure for looters and rioters. Up to you what you choose here, I
personally sent a tenth of my men to help her.
Also, set Jalboun to special assignments and your greycloaks to recruiting. We
need to build that army of ours after all.

Pass time (exit the keep then enter again), then talk to Kana again. After this
batch of recruiting, she claims there's no more people to get. At this point I
had 597 greycloaks, so I guess I hit the limit sorta. Set them to patrol the
roads and lands to ensure that we won't lose our "very high" security status.

Go talk to Guyven by the way, and tell him of Mount Galardrym. He will, on the
other hand, tell you about a sneaky tactic to avoid an ambush from the shadow
reaver.

Pass time and talk to Kana once more. She'll ask if you want to conscript
soldiers from the farmers. Katriona is against it, they're ineffective and
mortality rate extremely high. It's up to you, I chose not to conscript any. I
much prefer a smaller well-trained army than a large chaotic army.

Pass time a few times until Kana mentions that the Shadow Reaver is causing
havoc. That would be another checkpoint, telling you to go kill that reaver
fella. At this point, my keep statistics looked like this:
NOTE: These numbers may vary from game to game, except time passed.

Time Passed: 82%
Merchants: 118
Peasants: 147
Peasant Civility: High
Morale: Very High

Greycloaks:
Number: 657
Volunteers: 390
Recruits: 232
Greycloak Civility: High
Training: Best of the Best
Unit Strenght: Very High
Armor: Best
Weapons: Best

Road Security: Very High
Land Security: Very High

So, it's time to go kill us a shadow reaver.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.11] - The Shadow Reaver
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Straight forward, this one. You need Zhjaeve along for this, since she has the
scroll of True Names. Right when you arrive, the reaver will initiate a small
dialogue - he wants to brag, of course. Zhjaeve will start reciting the True
Name, and during that time you HAVE to guard her. Take out the reaver's helpers
first, and once Zhjaeve is done, attack the reaver itself.

When it's dead, be sure to loot it for a shard that gives immunity to death
magic. Return to the keep and enter the courtyard to see a cutscene. Seems
we're not done dragon hunting, eh?

In any case, we have a few loose ends we need to take care of before we
continue with the story. We have a construct to build, first of all, and there
is a little surprise in the basement of the keep that we've yet to touch upon.

So, get Grobnar in your party, and set out for Ember. Head down through the
well and into the goblin lair. Depending on how you dealt with them, you may
need to fight your way through - either way, get to the glowstone cave. Head
over to the pool on the opposite side of where you found the stone, and Grobnar
will react. Feel free to return to the keep (but it has to be the same way you
came, through Ember just to make sure the game doesn't go boom).

When you arrive at Crossroad Keep, exchange Grobnar for Ammon in your party,
then head to the basement. Talk to Grobnar to get the construct activated.
That nets you a new optional party member as well as 1000xp. The construct
dialogue suggests that crafting skills can improve it, but other sources have
claimed that these options are broken - any confirmation on this would be
welcome.
Head on into the summoning circle to get a cutscene with Ammon. Asking the
right things, you'll get a recipe for a gold filigree charm used to summon
Mephasm. You know, the demon we've met a few times already. Feel free to
create it if you can - it doesn't have to be the PC creating it, so either
Sand, Zhjaeve or whoever you have as main crafters in your group should easily
be able to do it. Summoning him grants you 500xp by the way.

If you do summon him, simply summon him a few times asking for bargaining until
he gives you the infernal focus recipes - feel free to create those as well and
start bargaining with Mephasm. Do note you take a +1 chaotic hit for each of
the bargains however, and so far I haven't found anything really useful from
doing it.

With these two things out of the way, feel free to talk to Kana and pass time
some more. If your road and land security levels are at very high and you've
gotten the "can't find more recruits" message, the only thing you should set
your soldiers to do is to patrol land & roads. Beside that, there really isn't
much more to do in the keep anymore.

One thing you could do is to make sure all your companions are reasonably well
equipped. Yes, even the ones you never use. You don't have much else to spend
your cash on, and you will need to do this soon enough, so might as well get
it over with now ;)

If you have plenty of cash and have built everything there is to build, I'd
suggest to remove all taxes. I've no idea if it matters, but more peasants
means more greycloaks - and more greycloaks means a larger army against the
King of Shadows. At least that's my logic.

Keep passing time with Kana until she tells you that the silver sword needs to
be reforged, then it's time to head out on your next storyline mission.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.12] - Reforging the Silver Sword
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grab your usual fighting party and head out for Nolaloth's Valley. Just as you
arrive, turn left to find an ore deposit. We don't really NEED more, but they
give XP just the same.
Move along the path, killing the elder earth elemental when it arrives. When
you reach the crystal heart, go close to it to have a few water elementals
spawn - kill them to notice a few dragons sitting around. Be sure to grab the
ore in the north end as well, then head up to the cliff edge.

Talk as much as you can with Nolaloth, but be sure to avoid any mention of Amon
Jerro and make sure you're not mistaken for friends of Illefarn as well. This
dragon really doesn't like either of them.

Finally, he'll tell you how to reforge the blade, and his price for this
information. You must destroy his heart. As we noticed, there are a few dragons
around it though, and they won't particularly like it when you attack the
heart. Make sure you're fully buffed, preferably with some acid immunity and
such before you start.

Once you've killed those two, loot their remains and bash the heart. Then, if
you have Zhjaeve in your party, head straight for the Ruins of Arvahn. If not,
you'll need to stop by Crossroad Keep and pick her up.

On the way to the ruins, you may have a random encounter with some pixies who
want your money and your gear. Simply say no and they'll go away :P

Once there, go straight for the Song Portal. When ready, exit the ruins. Be
advised, you can't rest in West Harbor, so be really ready. Have some
restoration spells or potions ready.
You'll soon meet a few of your friends who'll "guide" you to the bridge, or,
what's left of it. They'll then turn to shadows and attack you. If you have 
the right skills (survival I guess), you can make a bridge out of the four logs
here, otherwise you'll need to cross the water.
However you got across, you'll stumble into Danan Starling soon. Talk to him
for a bit, and when the shadows attack kill them. Move forward till you see
Retta Starling and Danan talking. Interrupt, and force Retta to admit that she
is a shadow. Kill her, then talk to Danan again. Zhjaeve will tell him that he
is a ghost, and that it's only his own will that binds him to this place. He'll
dissapear, and you'll get a bit of xp as well as a root that protects you from
the poison in this place.
Go straight for the scarred bit of earth and complete the blade. A shadow
reaver will attack you once it's completed, so let's test if it's a good
weapon, shall we?
Once the reaver is killed, loot him, then head back into the ruins and through
the portal. Before you leave the Ruins of Arvahn, however, try checking out
the sword and compare it to the weapon you used. Make sure you got the weapon
you prefer equipped, but don't throw the other one away just yet :P

Go back to Crossroad Keep - the second you reach the courtyard, Sir Nevalle
will inform you that Callum is under attack from a shadow reaver, so let's go
help him. Ammon will insist that it's his turn to recite the True Name, so you
will be forced to bring him this time.
Watch the cutscene, defeat the reaver and grab the Tome of Iltkazar from his
cold dead fingers. Excellent, 3 reavers down and now we got the Tome Aldanon
so badly wanted.
Return to the keep and give the Tome to Aldanon. He'll need some time to work
out what we need, so go chat with Kana.

If you've followed this walkthrough all the way, there's nothing really left
to do at the Keep - but do note that this is more or less the last time you
get the chance to build stuff, train troops and so forth, so if you're
missing anything, get it done and get it done NOW.
Also, like I said earlier, you'll really want to have geared up all your
companions, this is also one of the last chances for doing that as well as
crafting your own gear.
Basically, if you have ANY loose ends at all, now is the time to finish them.

Go tell Calindra of the last ore deposits, then talk to Kana to have time pass
to 100%. Congratulations, your keep is fully ready for war. At this point, my
keep stats was like this:
Merchants: 236
Peasants: 258
Greycloaks: 990
Everything else was maxed out.

Again, make absolutely sure you've finished up all the loose ends, gotten the
gear you need, sold what you don't need, equipped all your mean, crafted what
you wanted to and so forth.

Once ready, speak to Sir Nevalle - war is upon us.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.13] - War!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the cutscene, speak to Sir Nevalle again. He suggests you take a round of
the Keep to prepare people for a siege, so let's do that. Unfortunately, it's
all just talk - there's no special dialogues for anyone. Instead, head straight
for the keep where Aldanon will meet you and tell you that Amon Jerro has
dissapeared.
Say you'll go find him to be insta-ported to where he is. Feel free to select
the party you wish.

You'll soon recognize the place - it's Shandra's old farm. What in the nine
hells is he doing here? Let's go ask him. Might wanna buff up with some fire
immunity and such first though.
Once the fight starts, focus exclusively on Koraboras since he'll just summon
in new monsters when you kill any. When dead, see the real reason why Ammon
went here. He's got a new weapon :P

Return to the keep and prepare yourself for a long battle sequence. Talk to
Sir Nevalle to get it all started. If all has gone according to plan, you'll
get 4000xp all in all - as reward for fortifying the keep and making the
alliances you could make.

Watch the cutscene, then head for the War Room. In there, you'll be informed
that we need to remove the bridges. You get to choose two, and only two, people
to tag along with you and a group of greycloaks. It'll be undead slaying, so
Zhjaeve might be a good option - I personally preferred Qara and Khelgarthough.

Head out, get the intel from Daeghun, and move forward, killing undead as you
come across them. You'll soon get another group of Greycloaks with you, but
keep going. Those bridges won't destroy themselves.

Hack your way through (Qara's meteor swarm works wonders here) until you reach
Black Garius at the final bridge. Kill the thingies he sends to attack you, and
watch how the bridges are burned to the ground. Handle the cutscenes as you see
fit, and go to rest in your room.

You'll be woken up by a greycloak. Seems the army of undead has arrived, so
I hope you're ready for 'em. Time for the second combat session - destroying
siege towers. Bring a pyromaniac or two for this since fire works wonders here.

You'll be sent to the walls where you'll have to smash six siege towers before
you've won this section. Use all the fire magic you have at your disposal, the
melee troops will have plenty to do just making sure you the casters stay
alive.

Next up is a big battle for the courtyard. Once again Qara will be a fine
choice, but also bring Zhjaeve or Sand for additional magic - if your character
is a melee fighter that is, otherwise grab Khelgar along. Once you've stopped
them all, Black Garius will arrive and summon the Nightwalker - the avatar of
the King of Shadows.  Time to use that Silver Sword of Gith and destroy it.

Once it's dead, have either Ammon or Zhjaeve recite Garius' True Name to
win the day.
And now, finally, you'll get a little break. Level up, my character hit 20 at
the Nightwalker itself, then enter the room.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[3.14] - Endgame
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aldanon has finally figured out a way to send you deep into the Claimed Lands,
so go ahead and skip off. All your companions will follow you, but after the
cutscene, you'll notice that Neeshka has been kidnapped and that Zhjaeve and
Ammon are required members of your party.

Select the two other members and head out. Soon enough, a large bunch of bone
spiders will spawn on you, but they really shouldn't pose any serious threat to
you by now.
Once they're all dead, proceed through the door. Do note, you won't really get
a chance to sell stuff anymore, so it might be rather pointless to grab the
loot from the corpses, but I simply couldn't let the shinies just lie there.
There's some magical armors and weapons, but I'd guess they're mostly there
to give you a chance to gear up your friends if they aren't already.

Also note, down here you CAN rest, but chances are your rest will be 
interrupted by evil thingies, and since you're level 20 and don't get xp for it
anymore, well, no point really. Of course, you can always use the quicksave and
quickload options to make sure you get your 5 seconds of rest uninterrupted.

Plenty of traps and locked doors, and no Neeshka to fix it. Time to work out
that bash button. Head on in to the next room, clear the undead, wander east
and run into the strange black fog to get ported all the way west where you'll
see a door. Bash it, and kill the blade golems that arrive. Bash the next door
to move on. Another black fog thingie - shadow magic's version of a portal I
guess, so move on through it.

Move a bit forward to be attacked by a rather large amount of shadows. Kill
them all, but notice the Nightwalker downstairs. Well, equip the Gith sword
and give him what he apparently wants - a fast death.
Moving forward, a group of vampires under the guidance of a shadow priest and
a lich will attack you. You'll need to take the long circle around to the
southwest upstairs corner of this room to reach the next black fog thingie,
so clear it out and continue. Thankfully, liches aren't quite as powerful as
they were back in Baldur's Gate 2.

Moving forward, into the black fog. Whack the mummy lords, then prepare for a
really tough fight - 3 shadow reavers at once. Best tactic seems to be keeping
your people behind, then go forward, activate the cutscene and run back. That
way you'll at least only have to deal with two reavers in the first go.

Now there's only one door left. Rest up if you can, then enter. You'll soon
realize that all of your companions are here. Level them up, memorize spells,
and rest - then proceed. Gamespot suggests to make a new save here. I kinda
agree with 'em. In any case, if you have MotB, this is as good a place as any
to export your character.

Once you're ready, head on in. A long cutscene will ensue, in which your
companions will choose sides. In my case, Qara, Bishop and the Construct stood
against me, while Neeshka, Sand and Ammon Jerro chose my side. The others
didn't get a dialogue here. The Construct is based on INF with Grobnar, btw.
You can, by chosing the right dialogue, get Bishop to simply leave the fight,
leaving the construct on your side as well. Chose the dialogues: "that's not
what happened" and then "I don't know what..", depending on whether you've
started a romance with Casavir I presume.

The fight begins - seeing that the combat changes based on how you've played,
I can't really suggest anything. You'll want to take out any arcane casters
that have switched sides first tho - they're soft, and they're dangerous.

Now, the first two who leave to either side of those statues you see in front
of you will be locked "out" from the main group. In my case, I brought myself
and Khelgar off to one side and ordered the rest to stay. Khelgar and I then
went straight for my former allies and then Black Garius himself, while the
rest were forced to strike against a balor and a large group of undead. Hope
you memorized some sunbeam/sunburst spells since they'll help a lot.

Now rest up, buff up and generally get ready. Click on the portal to start the
final fight of the game - the King of Shadows himself. This fight is rather
long and big, and includes 3 phases.
First phase is simple: Whack the big evil shadow.
Second phase, almost just as simple: whack the many small evil shadows.
Third phase: Use the sword of gith and power attack to whack the five statues,
then whack the portal, then whack the really big evil shadow.

Good luck - and once  you manage to win, enjoy the feeling of having
completed Neverwinter Nights 2. And, of course, feel free to go buy Mask of the
Betrayer, just like I did ;)

===============================================================================
END OF WALKTHROUGH
===============================================================================

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[vi] - Companion Listing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All companions are sorted by the time they become available to you. Do note you
can't choose companions before you arrive to the Sunken Flagon in Neverwinter.
The three tutorial companions will be ignored.

Khelgar Ironfist, Shield Dwarf, Neutral Good Fighter.
This dwarf loves to fight. Actually, he lives for fighting. He's a good strong
fighter. You can turn Khelgar into a monk later on, after you've gotten a few
other full-plate wearing melee classes. His wisdom isn't too good for a monk,
but that can be helped with a periapt of wisdom and stuff like that.
STR: 18
DEX: 13
CON: 18
INT: 10
WIS: 10
CHA:  7
Located: Outside the Weeping Willow Inn.
Related Quests:
Khelgar wants to become a monk, so when you reach Neverwinter, go to the
temple of Tyr to learn he has to pass three trials to become a monk.
Trial of the Maimed: Complete the Dwarven Scouts area, giving the Gauntlets of
Ironfist to Khelgar.
Trial of the Even-handed: Gain enough influence with Khelgar, then talk with
him.
Trial of Justice: After your trial, talk to Hlar again, and Khelgar will have
completed that.
It's your choice whether to turn him into a monk or not in the end, so do what
feels best for your party.

Neeshka, Tiefling, Neutral Rogue.
Neeshka is the kind of girl who likes easy cash. She's good in combat too,
thanks to her dex score - just give her weapon finesse and some two-handed
fighting and watch her swing those devastating sneak attacks.
STR: 12
DEX: 18
CON: 14
INT: 16
WIS:  8
CHA: 12
Located: Outside Fort Locke.
Related Quests:
2 groups of bounty hunters in Neverwinter, one in the docks, the other right
when you enter the Merchant Quarter for the first time. After those two,
Neeshka will insist on visiting Leldon, the man who's put a bounty on her.
Visit Ophala in the Moonstone Mask to learn the location of Leldon's home, then
go steal the coin, or simply pay him a visit.
In the start of Chapter 2, a woman named Tasha will confront Neeshka the first
time you leave the Sunken Flagon with her in your party. She'll tell that
Leldon intends to rob The Collector's house as a final grand job, then retire
as the best thief of Neverwinter. Neeshka will obviously object to this and
insist on paying The Collector a visit herself.
Head out to the Blacklake District and enter the Collector's vault. That will
make Leldon appear for one last duel. Kill him off.

Elanee, Wold Elf, Neutral Good Druid.
I've personally hardly used Elanee since I had the choice not to. She's a
decent druid, but I've had problems fitting her into a party, really.
Note that as long as Elanee is in your party, you can speak with animals.
STR: 14
DEX: 16
CON: 11
INT: 13
WIS: 17
CHA: 12
Located: Between Fort Locke and Highcliff.
Related Quests:
All the events related to the corruption of druids are part of Elanee's quest
chain. Kaleil in Maiden's Glade, the wolf in Neverwinter and the entire
Skymirror area.

Qara, Human, Chaotic Neutral Sorcerer.
The pyromaniac. You won't find a more powerful offensive spellcaster for a
while - and thanks to Qara's high charisma, she will only become stronger over
time. Plus, her sidequest is quite interesting.
STR: 10
DEX: 14
CON: 14
INT: 12
WIS: 11
CHA: 18
Located: Outside the Sunken Flagon during act 1.
Related Quests:
When you encounter Qara, she's about to start a fight with two other mage
students, Glina and Hetha. Resolve this and Qara will join your party.
The first time you leave the Sunken Flagon with Qara in your party, you'll be
attacked by a group of magelings led by Praven.
The second time you leave the Flagon with Qara in your party, another group
of mages will attack, this time led by Ashni. When you're close to killing him
Johcris, Gilna's father will show up, interrupting the fight.
In a cutscene later on, you'll see how Johcris makes a deal with Luskans for
an assassination of Qara.
In the beginning of chapter 2, you'll see another cutscene of the Luskan and
Johcris creating a strange creature that will be sent off to attack Qara.

Grobnar Gnomehand, Rock Gnome, Chaotic Good Bard.
Can't say I've used him in a group yet. He seems to be this game's Deekin
really, with odd comments and whatnot. I'm not too fond of bards personally,
but I guess he should be brought along for the comments, if only once.
STR: 10
DEX: 16
CON: 16
INT: 12
WIS: 10
CHA: 18
Located: Between Neverwinter and Old Owl Well.
Related Quests:
None found so far.

Casavir, Human, Lawful Good Paladin.
Paladins do have some unique abilities that make them very useful in certain
situations. Unfortunately my char is usually a paladin, so poor Casavir is
surplus in my groups really. Plus, everybody knows Aasimar makes better pallys
than humans ;)
STR: 16
DEX: 12
CON: 14
INT: 11
WIS: 14
CHA: 18
Located: Encounter after leaving Bonegnasher Clan.
Related Quests:
None found so far.

Bishop, Human, Chaotic Evil Ranger.
A master with a bow, Bishop's personality is unfortunately quite the opposite
of all the other early NPCs. If you really want a powerful archer though,
Bishop's your man.
STR: 16
DEX: 18
CON: 15
INT: 11
WIS: 14
CHA: 11
Located: In the Sunken Flagon, he'll auto-join when Shandra gets kidnapped.
Related Quests:
None found so far.

Shandra Jerro, Human, Neutral Good Fighter.
Thankfully Shandra is a "free" member, otherwise she would never be along in a
party. While her ability scores can be fixed with +STR gear, her focus on short
swords is a rather odd choice for a fighter.
STR: 13
DEX: 16
CON: 16
INT: 12
WIS: 13
CHA: 12
Located: Shandra's farm at first, but will join you during the cutscene between
chapter 1 and 2.
She's a "free party member", meaning that she won't count as one of the three
you can have along. She will ALWAYS be around, no matter what.
Related Quests:
None found so far.

Sand, Moon Elf, Lawful Neutral Wizard.
The second offensive spellcaster you get, Sand is not nearly as powerful as
Qara. He is, however, a bit more versatile, and he'll get the more powerful
spells earlier due to him being a wizard. I would suggest using him as your
enchanter, however - giving him the crafting feats and so forth.
STR: 10
DEX: 16
CON: 12
INT: 19
WIS: 12
CHA: 10
Located: Will offer to join you during the cutscene between chapter 1 and 2.
Related Quests:
None found so far.

Zhjaeve, Githzerai, Lawful Neutral Cleric.
Your first cleric, Zhjaeve will fill out the healer role quite nicely, if you
need such a role to be filled, that is. I haven't played much with her yet, but
her ability scores speak for themselves really - she's not so much a fighting
cleric as a spellcasting one. If you can't find room for her, I'd suggest using
her as a crafter/enchanter - she'll be able to cast some interesting stuff.
STR: 11
DEX: 13
CON: 12
INT: 14
WIS: 20
CHA: 13
Located: Will auto-join your party after you kill Garius.
Related Quests:
None found so far.

Amon Jerro, Human, Neutral Evil Warlock.
Amon will join you at the end of chapter 2 - more of need than desire, really.
I've yet to actually use him, or any other warlock for that matter, so I've no
idea how he plays yet.
STR: 10
DEX: 14
CON: 14
INT: 16
WIS: 12
CHA: 21

The Construct, thingie, Fighter.
The construct will join you once you complete it. It requires three items to
get it back into a working order - the book found in Crossroad Keep, some
fluid found in Ember (you'll need Grobnar along to find it) and an iron piece
you find in the Ruins of Arvahn, the gem mine, to be exact.
There seems to be quests revolving around upgrading it, but I haven't done
either yet.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[vii] - History feats
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As a new thing to Neverwinter Nights 2, the game adds "history feats" all
through the game. None of them add any specific bonuses to your character, but
they do add to the overall roleplaying feel of the game:

Harborman - gained from the start, signifying that you're born in West Harbor.

Blessed of Waukeen - gained from the start. Originally a limited edition
exclusive, but it was given to all games in a later patch (1.05 or 1.06). As
the only history feat, this one actually gives you a bonus: +1 to all saves as
well as access to special items from three merchants in the game. 

Kalach-Cha - gained just after the attack at the Weeping Willow Inn. This is
what the Githyanki call you. You'll later find out what it means exactly, but I
don't want to spoil that for ya ;)

City Watchman - gained if/when you join the City Watch.

Orc Slayer - gained after you kill Logram Eyegouger.

The Butcher of Ember - gained in the cutscene between chapter 1 and 2.

Squire of Neverwinter - gained when you accept becoming Sir Grayson's squire.

Wrongfully Accused - If you're proven innocent for the Ember massacre.

Master Orator - if you handle yourself succesfully at the trial, meaning if you
do it yourself, and not letting Sand take care of it.

Captain of Crossroads Keep - Right after you get your shiny new keep.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[viii] - Easter Eggs/References
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Generally, you'll hear plenty about the plague and the war against Luskan, the
events of the original NWN campaign. Might be obvious, but I still like how
the devs really tried to show us that it's the same world but a different time.

During the attack on West Harbor, inside the Starling house, you'll be helped
by three dogs. One of them is called Nasher after Lord Nasher, the leader of
Neverwinter.
From Michael Northington: "a more interesting related note is that Lord Nasher
himself is a reference to the original AOL MMO version of Neverwinter nights,
where he was the character used by one of the lead developers.

Fenthick, Lady Aribeth's lover from the original NWN campaign has become a
vengeful ghost in Neverwinter's Tomb of the Betrayers. Of course, our beloved
protagonist kills him.. again..

Deekin, the cute lil Kobold from Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the
Underdark has an appearance as well. He's now a merchant, selling off all the
weird stuff he's found during his many travels, and like always, he has his
own part to play in your adventure.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[iv] - Planned additions to the walkthrough
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While such a project can never truly be called finished, I do have some current
plans for what I want to add in this walkthrough:

A full list of companions, where to gain/lose influence with them, and their
seperate quest chains.
A guide to creating your own character, including powerbuilds and other fun
stuff.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[x] - Credits
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All the game designers for making another great RPG.
All the walkthrough-writers at gamefaqs, a site I use regularly.
Paradox Jast aka xInfInIty for his excellent Stronghold Guide.
Offkorn for the crafting guide and the pickpocket guide.
Nicholas Clarke for the facts about ability-enhancing items and spells.
Darren Krommenhock for a few details for 1.2, the farewell.
Martin Sj�lund, Garry Kong, DarkSun and Borkborkbork for info about Kistrel,
the intelligent spider in 2.5.
borkborkbork for info about the bluff checks at Lyssa in 2.6.
Larry Puccinelly for a tidbit of info for 2.9.
Alex Karabis for the stealth approach to Leldon's Hideout.
Rob Dejournett for a lot of tips/additions all through the walkthrough.
Jarno Porrka for various additions here and there.
Alexander Evan-Jones for addition to 2.6
Grail Quest for various additions/Corrections
Michael Northington for the Nasher easter egg and info on Blessed of Waukeen.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


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This Document is Copyright 2006-2007 by Rune Hansen