Black Hearts walkthrough

This is a walkthrough for the quest content added by the BG1 mod Black Hearts.
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This is one long quest-line, that uses the in-game quest journal heading "Black Hearts".
== Part 1: Bounties in Beregost ==
=== Unruly Adventurers ===
* In chapter 3+If you talk to her earlier, she just tells you you're not ready., talk to Illasera the Quick on the main floor of Feldepost's Inn in Beregost.She tells you she's a bounty hunter, and wants to subcontract to you. Agree.The first target she gives you, is a band of drunken adventurers who killed a boy in a local tavern and then fled west.
* OPTIONAL: Talk to the barkeeper of the Burning Wizard tavern.He suggests that the adventurers may have gone to a temple.
* Travel to the Beregost Temple area, and find the band of 6 adventurersKherk Snotpaw, Wynna, Elys Horne, Nichye, Rithelm, Andoc inside the vestibule (the little side-building left of the temple). They attack you on sight, giving you no option to bring them in peacefully. So defeat them, and be sure to pick up the "Hard Knocks Helm"Item code WIHELM01. dropped by their leader Rithelm.
** NOTE: Rithelm also drops an "Unholy Symbol of Bhaal"Item code WIMISC12.. You can ask Illasera about it, but she doesn't tell you anything useful. You will find more of these. Feel free to throw them away, as there is nothing else you can do with them – it's just meant as a bit of foreshadowing.
* Show the helmet to Illasera in Beregost, to receive 240 and your next task:
=== Redwater Raiders ===
* Illasera now wants you to hunt down a group of hobgoblin bandits who wear red sashes.Their last attack was south of Beregost, and left a survivor.
* OPTIONAL: Talk to Elenair, who stands outdoors in Beregost in the backyard of the Travenhurst manor. He is the surviving caravan worker, and tells you that the bandits' clothes were stained with red clay – the kind found in the Red Canyons.
* Travel to the Area South of High Hedge, also known as "Red Canyons", and find the hobgoblins north of the map center. They attack on sight. Beside their leader "Perthag of Red Waters", there are 2 warriors, 2 archers, and 2 wizards. Defeat them, and be sure to loot Perthag's "Humanbane Bastard Sword"Item code WISW1H01..
* Show the sword to Illasera in Beregost, to receive 480 and your next task:
=== The Necromancer ===
* Illasera's third task for you is to root out the necromancer Sazazir, who has taken up residence in the Nashkel mines after you cleared out the kobolds.
* Travel to the Nashkel Mines, and enter the mine.
* OPTIONAL: On the first subterranean level, talk to the Mine Guard by the entrance to quickly get brought to the second level (right next to the exit to the third level) via cutscene.
* OPTIONAL: On the second level, talk to the Mine Guard by the exit to the third level. He tells you that the necromancer is on the third level.
* Enter the the third subterranean level of the mine. You are immediately attacked by skeletons, and the necromancer Sazazir quickly joins the battle. Defeat him (). When he dies, any remaining skeletons are destroyed as well.Be sure to pick up "Sazazir's Spellbook"Item code WIBOOK01.
** NOTE: Sazazir casts some of his spells from scrolls, so the faster you kill him, the more scrolls you can loot.
** NOTE: He, too, carries a symbol of Bhaal"Unholy Symbol of Bhaal", item code WIMISC12.. Curious.
* OPTIONAL: Talk to the Mine Guard on the second level, to travel back outdoors via cutscene.
* Bring the spellbook to Illasera in Beregost, to receive 1000 and your next task:
=== The Gentleman ===
* Illasera's fourth task for you is to retrieve a tome stolen by an ogre-mage from a traveler to Candlekeep, and to remove said ogre-mage.
* Travel to Lion's Way (the area east of Candlekeep), and find the ogre-mage called "The Gentleman" among the stone circles. You can talk to him, to learn that he is stealing travelers' books as leverage because Candlekeep refused him entry. There are multiple ways you can handle this:
** CHOICE: Fight him.Turn him hostile via dialog, and he casts Invisibility on himself and summons 6 ogres. Defeat him, and don't forget to loot the "Tome of Manuscripts"Item code WIBOOK03 from his body.
** CHOICE: Get him the book he wants.Ask him why he wants to enter Candlekeep so badly, and he tells you that he's after a specific erotic book. Travel to Beregost, complete the base-game mini-quest "A Book for Firebead" if you haven't already, and then talk to Firebead Elvenhair in his home again. He gives you a copy of the sex manual"Copy of the Liberus Optimae Erositica", item code WIBOOK02. in question. Bring this to the Gentleman, and he gives you his magic ring"Ring of Lesser Magic Resistance", item code WIRING01. and the "Tome of Manuscripts"Item code WIBOOK03 and leaves.
** CHOICE: Persuade him to leave.If your protagonist has 14+ CHA, you can persuade the Gentleman to leave without getting what he came for.To do this, you must discuss three topics with him: (1) His monster race making humans wary of him; (2) Which book he is after; (3) His attacks on travelers.During those disscussions, you must make at least two of the following three persuasive arguments: (a) That he is proving stereotypes about his race correct; (b) That instead of reading a sex manual he could visit a brothel; (c) That he risks travelers' lives by diverting them.He then gives you his magic ring"Ring of Lesser Magic Resistance", item code WIRING01. and the "Tome of Manuscripts"Item code WIBOOK03 and leaves.
* Bring the tome to Illasera in Beregost, to receive 800 and your next task:
=== Cursed Mirror ===
* Illasera's fifth task for you is to retrieve a relic that was lost when the mercenary band meant to protect an archeological expedition turned mad and homicidal. They've been seen on the road north.
* Travel to the Area North of Beregost, also knows as the "Coast Way", and enter the cave in the top-right portion (marked "Hidden Cave" on the area map).
* You are attacked by the six mercenaries (1 assassin, 1 fighter, 1 cleric, 1 berserker, 1 mage, 1 bow-wielding thief), and by the archeologist Presfiel.Defeat them. The mercenaries die normally (and drop some magical loot), whereas Presfiel falls to the ground and turns non-hostile once her hitpoints are low.
* Talk to Presfiel after the battle. She clutches the mirror in her hands, but speaks only gibberish.
** CHOICE: Mercy-kill her.Choose the dialog option to slit her throat, and then loot the mirror"Tainted Eternity Glass", item code WIMISC01. and optionally her magic boots"Boots of the Stout Traveler" (+1 CON), item code WIBOOT01..
** CHOICE: Perform an excorcism.If your protagonist is a cleric (single-, dual-, or multi-class), or if you have Ajantis, Branwen, Viconia, or Yeslick in the party, you learn that Presfiel is posessed by a demon, and you can choose a dialog option to perform a ritual to drive it out. (You can also leave the cave and return once you have one of those companions.)The ritual causes a Shadow Demon to manifest physically. Defeat it ().Talk to the now-restored Presfiel afterwards. It turns out that the ritual also broke the mirror – she gives you what's left of it"Broken Eternity Glass", item code WIMISC02..
* Bring the mirror to Illasera in Beregost, to receive 960 (regardless of whether you delievered it broken or intact). She tells you that this was her last bounty for you here, and that she is traveling north.Before she goes, she offers to buy you a drink and socialize with you.
** CHOICE: Accept her offer.A cutscene ensues, with lots of dialog about ordering drinks and exploring your and Illasera's personality, family background, etc. Provided that you don't outright start a conflictIf you become so offended at her calling you "pup" that you make her leave as an enemy, you miss out on part 2 of the quest-line., the dialog choices you make here don't matter for the quest-line, so feel free to role-play. This starts Illasera's friendship path, which adds extra flavor dialog through the quest.
** CHOICE: Reject her offer.This has no negative consequences for the quest-line, it just makes you miss out on some flavor dialog and means that the relationship between Illasera and you remains strictly professional.
== Part 2: Conspiracy in Baldur's Gate ==
=== Spider Assassins ===
* After completing all the Beregost bounties, when you first enter the east district of Baldur's Gate in chapter 5+, the "Image of Illasera"i.e. an illusion created by a Project Image spell cast by Illasera. approaches and initiates dialog. It asks you to attend a meeting at the nearby tavern.
* Enter the Elfsong Tavern in the same districtEast Baldur's Gate, and talk to Illasera who stands in the center-left side room on the ground floor. She introduces you to Artin, a Red Wizard defector who tries to tell you about a plot involving his order and the Iron Throne – but is assassinated by unnatural spiders before he can finish. Defeat the spiders.
* Talk to Illasera again. It seems that your only lead is the spiders; you can identify the magic that created them in one of the following ways:
** CHOICE 1: If your protagonist is a druid with 16+ WIS, or you have Jaheira in the party, then during the conversation with Illasera, you can recognize the magic as coming from shadow druids. Illasera suggests consulting the Cloakwood shadow druid enclave. If you reject that idea, Illasera suggests an alternative: Asking dryads in Peldvale.
** CHOICE 2: If you have Faldorn in the party, you can askDuring this conversation with Illasera. her about the spiders, and she not only identifies the shadow druid magic, but tells you about the ex-Harper Riezen Darkeyes. Illasera then directly points you to Nerys, which lets you skip the next two steps of the quest.
** CHOICE 3: Pick up the spider body"Spider Body", item code WIMISC05. off the ground, then leave the tavern and enter the Sorcerous Sundries shop in the same district. Show the spider body to the shopkeeper Halbazzer Drin and pay the 200 fee he asks for, and he tells you that it was created by shadow druids. Return to Illasera to discuss what you found; this then plays out like option 1.
* Assuming you haven't bypassed this step using Faldorn, you must find the source of the shadow druid magic that created the spiders. You have two options:
** CHOICE: Consult the Cloakwood shadow druids.(Only possible if you didn't previously wipe out their shadow druid enclave.i.e. if you didn't attack the enclave when you traveled through the Cloakwood in chapter 4. (Technically, the mod merely checks whether Takiyah, one of the base-game shadow druids, is still alive.))Travel to the Third Cloakwood area, and speak to the shadow archdruid Amarande outside the big tree trunk. He implicates the ex-Harper Riezen Darkeyes. Directly after the conversation, you are ambushed by five "assassin ankhegs"; defeat them.
** CHOICE: Consult the Peldvale dryads.Travel to Peldvale, and talk to the two dryads near the center of the map. They implicate the ex-Harper Riezen Darkeyes. Directly after the conversation, you are ambushed by five "assassin ankhegs"; defeat them.
* Return to East Baldur's Gate, and report your findings to Illasera in the Elfsong Tavern. She suggests you question the Harper woman Nerys, who has been seen in another tavern in town.
* Travel to North Baldur's Gate, enter the Three Old Kegs tavern, and talk to Nerys. You overhear a humorous conversation with two rogues, that drives home the point that Nerys is enthusiastic but not very competent at being a Harper agent. Asked about Riezen Darkeyes, she then invites you to her home to search her Harper records for information.
* A cutscene ensues in which Nerys takes you to her home and searches her records. She finds that Riezen Darkeyes was kicked out of the Harper order after he spent time in the Underdark and became erratic, and that he may be hiding in a secret gorge nearby.In the middle of the conversation, Illasera's projected image appears to tell you that she found new information. Your party and Nerys are taken to Illasera in the Elfsong Tavern via cutscene.
* Talk to Illasera again there, to learn that the Red Wizard leader Cherise Siltuhr has raised a monster army for the Iron Throne. She also points you to the likely location of Riezen Darkeyes's gorge.
* Travel to the Farmlands North of Baldur's Gate Bridge, and from there, click the center-top map egde to travel to:
* Riezen's Gorge Area code WI0003.:
** Walk down the gorge, past web traps, to find Riezen Darkeyes with two kidnapped villagers near a shrine.
** He initiates dialog. Feel free to roleplay, as nothing you say changes the outcome. You can learn that he serves a woman called Sendai, and that he was trying to kill you in order to use your corpse as a boobytrapped gift to assassinate a powerful enemy.
** After the conversation, he attacks you together with several spiders that spring from the villagers' corpses. Defeat him, and be sure to loot the diary"Coded Diary of Riezen Darkeyes", item code WIBOOK04. off his body.
* Return to East Baldur's Gate, and report to Illasera in the Elfsong Tavern. She tells you that Nerys requested a meeting after nightfall, and also asks if you found writings on the ex-Harper's body.
** CHOICE: Tell her about the diary.She takes it to study it, and gives you 1000 in compensation. This will make you miss out on a lore dump at the end of the quest-line.
** CHOICE: Lie to her that you found nothing.If your protagonist has 14+ CHA, she believes you; otherwise, it ends the optional friendship pathi.e. your relationship with Illasera remains strictly professional from now on, as if you had rejected her offer to socialize at the end of the Beregost portion of the quest-linen. with her. But in both cases, you get to keep the diary and continue the quest-line.
=== Night Knives ===
* At the end of the previous sub-quest, Illasera told you about a meeting that Nerys requested.So travel to Central Baldur's Gate at night, and approach the Drakon Tavern. Outside of it, a "Knight Knives Thief" initiates dialog, and warns you that his organization has kidnapped Nerys and will kill her if you don't stop investigating the Red Wizard plot.
* Return to East Baldur's Gate, and let Illasera in the Elfsong Tavern know what happened. She suggests recruiting the help of either the Flaming Fist, or the local Thieves Guild.
* Find the Night Knives hideout. There are multiple ways to do this:
** CHOICE: Find it by yourself.You could search the entire city of Baldur's Gate until you stumble upon the hideout – or just "cheat" and learn the location from this walkthrough.
** CHOICE: Find it with the help of the Flaming Fist.Ask Scar inside the Flaming Fist Headquarters in Southwest Baldur's Gate. AssumingOtherwise, he has no information for you yet. You can complete his quest and then ask him again, to get it. you have already completed his own quest "The Seven Suns", he tells you that his patrols saw cloaked figures in a certain warehouse.
** CHOICE: Find it with the help of the Thieves Guild.Ask Alatos "Ravenscar" Thuibuld in the Thieves' Guild in East Baldur's Gate. AssumingOtherwise, he won't give you any information yet. In this case you can complete his quest and then return to ask him again. you have already completed his own quest "Alatos and the Thieves' Guild", he admits that the Knight Knives have paid him for permission to operate in the city. You have two options for getting him to reveal their location:
*** CHOICE: Pay him 3000 , and he tells you which warehouse they use as a hideout.
*** CHOICE: Ask to trade the information for a job, and he tells you to pickpocket Brilla Silvershield's necklace. You can find her on the upper floor of the Silvershield Estate in Northwest Baldur's Gate. Pickpocket her necklace"Brilla's Necklace", item code WIAMUL02. off her, and bring it to Alatos. He then tells you about the warehouse.
* Travel to South Baldur's Gate (the docks district), and enter the southern warehouse . Instead of its normal content, there are nowOnly after you reported back to Illasera after learning of Nerys' kidnapping. Night Knives thieves and shadows here that attack on sight, as well as floor traps. Reunite with Nerys who stands in the back room ; she thanks you for rescuing her, and tells you about a Red Wizard whom she observed entering a secret tunnel in the sewers.
** OPTIONAL: If you still have Riezen's diary, you can give it to Nerys nowOnly during the conversation where you reunite with her in the warehouse. so that she can start decoding it.
** OPTIONAL: You can loot the table near Nerys for treasure and a letter"Unfinished Letter", item code WISCRL01. (This is purely informative, and not a quest item.) which reveals some lore about the Knight Knives. (Be sure not to leave anything you want here, as the warehouse reverts to its base-game state once you exit it.)
=== Red Wizards ===
* At the end of the previous sub-quest, Nerys told you how to find the Red Wizard lair.So enter the East Sewers map (most conveniently via a gully grate in Southeast Baldur's Gate), and take the long leftward tunnel at the bottom of the map. Use the area transition at the end of this tunnel , which nowOnly after you rescued Nerys. If you tried to take this area transition earlier, it will have automatically teleported you back to the East Sewers. brings you to:
* Red Wizard Sanctum level 1 Area code WI0006.:
** Make your way along the winding passage, watching out for traps and for Thayan agents who attack you on sight.
** In the room at the end of the hallway, the ogre mage "Yondak Master of Portals" initiates dialog to taunt you, and then attacks and summons 5 portals out of which more monsters spawn over time. (Kill the portals quickly to avoid getting swarmed.)
** Then take the staircase to arrive at:
* Red Wizard Sanctum level 2 Area code WI0007.:
** You are greeted by the archmage Cherise Siltuhr, but the conversation is interrupted by news about a simultaneous attack happening against Cherise's astral site. She teleports away, and leaves her underlings to attack you.
** Be sure to loot the crystal"Strange Gemstone", item code WIMISC06. from the central table, and optionally also the letter"Letter", item code WISCRL02. which will have an optional use later on.Leave the Red Wizard lair the way you came.
* Return to the Elfsong Tavern in East Baldur's Gate, and talk to Nerys there. Illasera teleports in, and explains that she was the one attacking the Red Wizards' extradimensional lair, but that she had to retreat. She takes the crystal you found, so she can study it and find a way to enter the astral lair a second time.
** OPTIONAL: If you have an active friendshipi.e. you accepted her offer to share drinks at the end of the Beregost portion, and did nothing to end the friendship since then. with Illasera, you can ask her to share drinks again. A cutscene ensues in a room upstairs, with lots of flavor dialog. Imoen also joins if she's in the party. Feel free to roleplay.`
=== Astral Demesne ===
* Advance the Baldur's Gate main plot to the point in chapter 7 where you fight the assassins Slythe and Krystin in the center of the Undercellar.
* Assuming you've completed this mod's "Red Wizards" sub-quest (see above), Illasera appears during this battle to fight on your side. Then after the two assassins are dead, she initiates dialog and tells you to meet her in a nearby room.
In some versions of the mod, it can happen that Illasera spawns, but stays invisible and fails to join the battle. She still initiates dialog after the battle and goes to her room, but since she's invisible. you cannot talk to her in her room.
In this case, copy&paste the following command into the cheat console to turn her visible:
C:Eval("ActionOverride(\"WIILLASE\",ApplySpell(Myself,CLERIC_INVISIBILITY_PURGE))")
If the previous method doesn't work due to mod installation, going to the sewers, sleeping and comming back will also make her show up.
* Take the top-left corridor of the Undercellar, and enter the last room on the right to find Illasera again. Initiate dialog with her. She knows about your recent exploits in Candlekeep, reveals that the Red Wizard archmage Cherise Siltuhr is an ally of Sarevok, and tells you that she has finally found a way to teleport your party into Cherise's astral lair.OnceDespite what Illasera says, there's no rush. Feel free to leave and do other things first. You can complete this quest at any time before you enter the Undercity (the BG1 end-game area). you tell her you are ready, she teleports your party to:
* Astral Demesne level 1 Area code WI0008.:
** As you arrive on this floating island in space, you are immediately set upon by tough trolls and slimes. Red Wizard corpses are strewn about; it looks like they lost control of their pet monsters.
** Approach the chest in the top-right map portion , to get attacked by a mimic and more slimes. Loot a nearby Red Wizard corpse for the "Black Astral Gemstone"Item code WIMISC09. (Quest item!).
** OPTIONAL: Talk to the Herald of Yaga-Shura on the center-left platform to learn that he is magically restrained. He asks you to find the wardstone to free him.
** There are three accessible portals on this map (on the bottom-left, bottom-right, and center-top platforms) – as well as the Sanctum Portal in front of the great tower in the top-right, that is blocked by magic wards. You can enter the three accessible portals in any order:
* Astral Demesne level 2 ▸ section A Area code WI0008.:
** You get here by entering the bottom-left portal on level 1. You arrive on the central platform of level 2. Unlike on level 1, there are no bridges between the platforms here.
** Walk forward to get attacked by a Shambling Mound and some golems. Loot one of the Red Wizard corpses here for the "Blue Astral Gemstone"Item code WIMISC10. (Quest item!).
** Take the only portal here , to get to the top-left platform of this level. There are three hostile Red Wizard agents here; one of them, a Thayan Conjuror, drops the "Flame Binding Wardstone"Item code WIMISC11. (Quest item!).
** Take the only available portal back to level 1:
Astral Demesne level 2 ▸ section B Area code WI0008.:
* You get here by entering the bottom-right portal on level 1. You arrive on the bottom-left platform of level 2. The blackguard Krotia the Black initiates dialog.
** CHOICE: Fight her.(). Then loot the "White Astral Gemstone"Item code WIMISC07. (Quest item!) off her body.
** CHOICE: Trick her.If your protagonist has 14+ CHA, you can make her believe that you are an agent of the Iron Throne. Optionally pump her for information. Then with 15+ CHA, you can convince her to hand you her astral gemstone and leave.
** CHOICE: Persuade her.If your protagonist has 13+ CHA, you can reveal who you are and still get her to talk. Then assuming you still have the letter from the physical Red Wizard lair with you, you can show it to her as proof that Cherise is betraying the Zulkirs. She gives you more information, hands you her astral gemstone, and leaves.
* Take the only available portal back to level 1.
* Astral Demesne level 2 ▸ section C Area code WI0008.:
** You get here by entering the north portal on level 1. You arrive on the small bottom-right platform of level 2.
** OPTIONAL: Talk to the non-hostile goblin Yujehli here, to learn that he hides from a monster. There's an Invisible Stalker on this same platform; If you manage to turn it visible and kill it, Yujehli thanks you and leaves. (No reward.)
** Step through the only available portal here , to get to the top-right platform of this level. Walk foward to get attacked by some frost salamanders. Loot one of the Red Wizard corpses here for the "Green Astral Gemstone"Item code WIMISC08. (Quest item!).
** Step through the only available portal, to return to level 1:
* Astral Demesne level 1 (revisited):
** OPTIONAL: Talk to the Herald of Yaga-Shura again with the "Flame Binding Wardstone" in your inventory, to free him. He thanks you, but then detects your true nature and attacks together with some fire elementals.
** Click the Sanctum Portal in front of the tower on the top-right platform . Provided that you have all four astral gemstones in your inventory, it teleports you to:
* Astral Demesne tower Area code WI0008.:
** Here you finally face Cherise Siltuhr. She initiates dialog, in which you can learn about her motivations and her connection to Bhaal. But no matter what you say, she attacks you together with a Rakshasa and a demonic fighter. Defeat them (16,000 + 6,000 + ; magic loot).
** As soon as the battle is over, Illasera teleports into the room (in the left corner). Talk to her for some goodbye dialog, and to let her teleport you back to Baldur's Gate.
* ADDENDUM: If you gave Riezen's diary to Nerys at the end of the "Knight Knives" sub-quest, then after defeating Cherise, find Nerys again in North Baldur's Gate outside the Ducal Palace gate . She gives you the decoded version of the diary"Decoded Diary of Riezen Darkeyes", item code WIBOOK06..It contains some foreshadowing about the BG2:ToB end-boss, and reveals how Riezen came to serve the bhaalspawn drow Sendai (also a ToB character) and how he planned to assassinate Sarevok for her.
* ADDENDUM: If you didn't complete the "Astral Demesne" sub-quest before going into the BG1 end-game, then you are attacked by Cherise Siltuhr and several of her minions in the Undercity .
* ADDENDUM: In the final battle of the BG1 end-game, inside the Temple of Bhaal, Illasera appears once more and offers to fight on your side (provided that you completed the "Astral Demesne" sub-quest).
Category:Mod walkthroughs