Baldur's Gate II Chapter 8

Baldur's Gate II Chapter 8 is the eighth part of Baldur's Gate II and the first of the three chapters in the Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal campaign. After defeating Irenicus and saving Suldanessellar, you will find yourself transported into a sacred grove of the ancient gods after you have been refused access to Suldanessellar, because of being a Bhaalspawn. The final and most bloody part of Alaundo's prophecy about the Bhaalspawn is about to unfold...
==Forest Spirit==
You will find yourself in the Spirit Heads forested area, either on your own or with all party members who have been imported from Shadows of Amn. Click on any of the stone spirit heads and that will initiate a fateful of a prophecy as told by a Forest Spirit that involves you and father Bhaal. After the prophecy has been told, a Journal entry registers:
:Chapter 8: It has begun. Even before I left Suldanessellar, the news had already begun pouring in from everywhere... tales of armies on the move, whole towns being destroyed to get at some lone wizard, massive carnage and destruction along the entire Sword Coast. It all links to the Bhaalspawn. They are being hunted, or hunting each other... whatever the case, wherever a child of Bhaal is, violence soon follows. And so, the fear and panic have spread, with any innocent even suspected of having the taint being driven from their homes or killed outright. Even the elven lands are not immune, and I sensed considerable relief upon my departure from the very city that I helped save. Ellesime, at least, offered me some advice... there is a part of the old elven woods that houses old ancestor spirits of the elves, spirits locked within giant carved faces made so long ago not even the elves remember when they were created. It is a sacred place reserved only for royalty, but Ellesime is allowing me to enter the dale and glean what wisdom I can. I have gone alone... none of the elven forest folk want to be near me. And while no others are supposed to be here, I am sure that danger stalks me yet. I should prepare my weapons and equipment and be ready for anything...}}
the party is moved to a clearing in the forest.
Soon after, a cut scene moves the party to a clearing encircled by crumbling obelisks. You will receive a message warning you that someone is coming to you, and that you must prepare for battle. After a few rounds, a female Elf called Illasera will appear and speak to you, saying she is also a Bhaalspawn and her goal is to kill you. If you are on your own, she will attack by herself. If you have a party imported or with you, she also will have her own allies to attack with. Illasera is the first of The Five you'll face in this campaign. She is also probably the least powerful one as well. For a discussion of the battle with illasera and if applicable, her "Black Reaver" allies, go to her article page.
==Pocket Plane==
After she is killed, you will be taken to the Pocket Plane where Solar will talk to you and promise to aid you with knowledge in the upcoming future. When she leaves, the spirit of Sarevok will appear in front of you and will give you important knowledge if you give him part of your soul. If Imoen is in the party, you can convince her to give up a part of her soul. After telling you of your first challenge he will offer to join your party. You can refuse or accept. The Fate Spirit will then address you and is able to summon any former companions to your aid, if they survived Shadows of Amn.
Enter the room northwest where your first challenge awaits. Another Bhaalspawn will say the test is retribution. Enemies will constantly appear at three points in the room and the type of enemies will depend on your alignment. When you have completed the test and killed them all, you will gain the Pocket Plane (ability) . When ready, move through the Pocket Plane exit and planar travel to Saradush. The Pocket Plane ability takes the party where they need to go, not necessarily where they want to go.
==Saradush==
When you arrive in Saradush, you will see Melissan and some commoners trying to gain audience with the leader of the town, Gromnir Il-Khan. Il-Khan soldiers will see you, mistake you for invaders and attack. Once they are dead, Melissan will explain the ongoing situation in Saradush, and ask you to gain entrance into Gromnir's castle and talk to him. Since the two official entrances are sealed, you have to find another. It quickly turns out that there are two ways in, just go a few steps down the castle ramp and speak to the whore in front of House Santele and she gives you the first hints on both (and an unmarked side quest). They can be combined to maximize XP:
* The sewers: in the local tavern, the first barmaid tells you more about this way after you solved her little problem, but the sewers are sealed by Il-Khans Soldiers, and she has no clue how to open it. So, you decide to politely ask the soldiers themselves in their barracks a bit west of the tavern. After a lively conversation the barracks are very empty (around 15.000 XP) and you find the key to the sewers in a chest. One entrance is in front of the barracks, another on the street north of the tavern, a third just beside the castle front door. In the sewers you encounter some of Yaga-Shura's troops (217.000 XP) and behind a hidden door in the north the passage to the castle basement.
* The old prison: tavern guest Peltje tells you about one way to enter the prison, tavern owner Pyrgam Aleson about another. They are not mutually exclusive, so you can combine them to maximize XP. For the first you have to speak at night to a courtesan at the tavern, pay 20 Gold and Gorion's Ward will be instantly transferred to the first room of the prison, where you will be ambushed by four vampires (4x8500 = 34.000 XP); the prison entrance then will be unlocked, you can leave and re-enter at will. For the second way go to Waukeen-priestess Farielle, who will give you the key to the prison, if talked to by a good, aligned party member (1000 XP per party member, even after the courtesan way). Enter the prison with the full party through the entrance just south of the temple and find your way through a bunch of fledgling and adult vampires until you find the named vampire Phlydian. Kill her and her adds and you are done with the vampires (113.00 XP incl. ambush + 10.000 XP per party member for an easy sidequest). Then take the exit to the castle basement.
Both ways lead to the castle basement, and the first time you enter it, you will receive 3000 XP per party member. Explore it until you find the staircase in the north-east corner. You will encounter a few hostile assassins, soldiers and orcs along the way and watch out for traps.
On the first floor you will immediately be under attack from more of Gromnir's battle troops; perfectly suited for Invisibility and Chain Contingency with three Abi-Dalzims. When you have defeated them (70.000 XP), you can open the main castle entrance and use it at will. When you are ready, go up to the second floor.
* That is the last chance to do the little missable sidequest Refuge for the Elves northeast of the tavern, because after Gromnir's death it will not be available anymore.
When you reach the second floor you will see Gromnir Il-Khan arresting Melissan for plotting to kill all Bhaalspawn by manipulating them to kill each other, and especially for bringing you in the city to kill him. After their dialogue he will notice you and attack. Once he and his companions are dead (94.000 XP for the kills and 30.000 XP per party member), Melissan will re-appear and tell you, that to save the city and the Bhaalspawn refugees, your next mission is to kill Yaga-Shura, the leader of the sieging army. Since he was made invincible, she will ask you to find a way to make him vulnerable to death again so you can defeat him. She gives hints about an old temple of Bhaal in the Forest of Mir and about Yaga-Shura's Lair in the Walking Mountains.
==Yaga-Shura==
Using your Pocket Plane ability, return to the Pocket Plane. From now on, the Pocket Plane exit will offer more destinations than to return to your previous position. Prepare for battle, exit the plane and tell the spirit that you want to go to on the path to Yaga-Shura's lair. You will find yourself in the North Forest.
In the moment you arrive in the North Forest, you stumble into 11 of Yaga-Shura's soldiers attacking a merchant caravan. They will turn and attack your party (7900 XP). Speak to the only surviving merchant Karthis al-Hezzar after the battle and he will offer to sell you what remains of his interesting goods. After this battle you will be able to travel on the world map, including Watcher's Keep. Continue through the forest, battle some Fire Giants and other soldiers of Yaga-Shura at a wooden bridge (36.600 XP) and at the east (44.100 XP), then travel to the Forest of Mir – The Temple.
After arriving at the Forest of Mir, prepare for a battle with shadow creatures. Go along the temple path and you will find a spirit of Gorion (or so it seems), who will be infuriated with your actions. If you have romanced one of your companions, there will be a personal torment for them as well. The Gorion figure will turn into a wraith and will attack with vampiric mists and wraiths and other shadow units (74.500 XP). Enter the temple ruins and you will have to fight a variety of big skeletons (43.200 xP). Go up the stairs and talk to Nyalee. She will tell you that Yaga-Shura is her adopted son and how you can defeat him. She wants you to retrieve her's and Yaga-Shura's heart from his lair. Now travel to the Marching Mountains.
In the Marching Mountains you will occasionally encounter Fire Giant patrols. Until you reach the northern exit, they will respawn fast at two spawn points, making this mountain area a profitable hunting ground, and after that resting will provide you with more sparring partners. In the northeast of the map you will find the entrance to Yaga-Shura's Lair.
In Yaga-Shura's lair you will immediately be attacked in the entrance section by many Fire Giants (if they see you), including two Elite Fire Giants (26.000 XP each). Watch out for the lava areas and the traps. The wall levers in the chambers left and right of the entrance can not be used yet. In the second section there are chambers left and right sealed magically. In the third section you can not go any further because of an invisible magical barrier before the next stairs, generated by the machine in the middle of the room. But there are chambers left and right with containers. In the left (northwest) chamber you will find the Hammer Wardstone (and a Girdle of Fire Giant Strength). As soon as you touch the pillar, several enemies will appear. In the right (northeast) chamber you loot the Skull Wardstone (prepare for battle with Golems including a Magic Golem). Now you return to the side chambers of the entrance, where you now can use the wall levers (5000 XP per party member for each lever) to open the left and right chamber of the second sections, whose magical barriers have vanished. Prepare for battle with Burning Men and others, loot the containers there for two more wardstones. In the right chamber an Erinnye will drop the Psion's Blade, an excellent weapon against Illithides. When you have collected the four wardstones, click the machine in the middle of the third section and the invisible barrier in front of the exit in the north will disappear (20.000 XP per party member). Go up the stairs to the second floor.
On the second floor you will be greeted by two fire giants. There is a trap at the top of the stairs so move with caution. The large doors in front of you are too big and heavy for you to push, so you will have to go through the small lava passages at the sides, an ideal bottleneck for the battle with the guards inside - they are too big to pass and will wait there to be killed from afar. Once they are killed (including their officer Berenn, 40.500 XP), disarm the many traps and collect Yaga-Shura's heart from the dais. Go through either of the doors at the side of the dais to enter Yaga-Shura's bedroom. To open the doors, you need at least strength 22, which should not be a problem at this point in the game, someone equipped with Crom Faeyr or one of the girdles of strength or using one of the conveniently nearby deposited potions of Fire Giant strength can do it. Enter on the left side and lure the Burning Men out to not trigger any trap. For their Lord Imix you will receive 50.000 XP. Disarm several traps in the room and take Nyalee's heart from the large stone bed. Speak with the slave on the right, free her for 15.000 XP per party member, ask her any question you want (she is only there to clarify your next step if you did not speak to Nyalee yet). Afterwards you can let her go or - disgusted by her motives - kill her for 6000 XP.
Return to Nyalee at the temple and give her the two hearts. Once she has her heart back, she will regain her feelings for her son and will attack you with some woodland beings which consist of one Vortex Spider, two Nymphs (which cast weak spells that will probably not bother you) and two Shambling mounds. Kill her. After the battle travel west to the Siege Camp.
* Point of no return: after arriving at the Siege Camp, Saradush will not be accessible anymore, so make sure you have done all the questing and shopping you wanted.
When you arrive in the Siege Camp you will discover that you are too late and Saradush has been sacked by the besieging army. Go west. After crossing the bridge, you will see some of Yaga-Shura's troops in the south, easy to fight without triggering Yaga-Shura. A bit to the west you encounter Yaga-Shura, who will attack your party. When he takes damage, he will claim his disbelief and leave the scene. Depending on your movements you will find him in the south or the west of the camp or even in the east beyond the bridge. Now he fights with some of his soldiers aiding him and fully restored. Some of his soldiers will drop a bit more XP and perhaps keep re-spawning.
Perhaps depending on the game version you have the option to, instead of rushing towards Yaga-Shura and ignoring his soldiers, make a stand on the bridge and keep killing soldiers and giants, while trying to conserve your strength for Yaga-Shura. This will result in 10 minutes more or less battle before the soldiers stop spawning. This makes your battle against Yaga-Shura a bit easier, as you only have to deal with him and a few soldiers. In other versions there may be not so many soldiers at all and the camp a bit disappointing.
As soon as he is dead, you will be transported to the Pocket Plane where Solar will tell you about your life before you set out from Candlekeep with Gorion. The barriers to the second challenge will then dissolve. After your conversation ends, you will be taken back to the siege camp to collect your interesting loot.
Melissan will appear when you return and tell you that all the Bhaalspawn in Saradush have been killed. She will also tell you that Yaga-Shura has two more allies that you must defeat. She will tell you that you can rest and stock up supplies at Amkethran, where an ally of her is in charge.
Go south through the Oasis. There you will be accused of the destruction of Saradush and will be attacked by about 20 soldiers sent by the kingdom of Tethyr. Fight your way to the east of the area (138.000 XP), collect tons of valuable loot, read your warrant poster and the remarkable letter of the tethyrian queen. Then travel to Amkethran. Chapter 9 will then begin.
==Gallery==
Start Chapter 8.png|Screenshot of previous dialogue from Queen Ellesime and the registering of the first Journal entry of Throne of Bhaal. This occurs after the cut scene and cinematic preview. Next step is to hear what prophetic lore the Forest Spirit has to offer.
ToB Foest Spirit.png|The Forest Spirit addresses the Bhaalspawn with a strange and grim prophecy at the start of Chapter 8.
==Mod Content==
Chapter 8 related portrait Artwork available in your game if you install the Portraits Portraits Everywhere Mod
ILLISARS.jpg|thumb|Illasera the bhaalspawn ambushes the party in the opening of Throne of Bhaal.
SOLARS.jpg|thumb|Solar celestial guides and teaches the bhaalspawn in the strange Pocket Plane (area).
FATESP.jpg|thumb|Fate Spirit, speaks from your Pocket Plane.
CESPENAR.jpg|thumb|Cespenar, your "butler" in the Pocket Plane.
MEL_GDS.png|Melissan encountered on first visit to Saradush.
File:Gromnirs.jpg|thumb|Gromnir Il-Khan, Half Orc bhaalspawn who commands the besieged city of Saradush. He's withdrawn within Saradush Castle.
File:YAGASHRS.jpg|thumb|Yaga-Shura, Fire Giant bhaalspawn, commander of forces besieging Saradush.
==Mod Screeshots==
ToB PP 1.png|Solar (Pocket Plane) greets the party after the battle with Illasera. The party has been transported to an unknown plane of existence.
Category:Storyline