Blood in Baldur's Gate

Blood in Baldur's Gate is a community-driven free-to-play narrative browser game developed and published by Larian Studios. It was released in June 2023.
==Summary==
In the Summer of the on Kythorn 19, a murder takes place on the cobblestone plaza called the Sailor's Crossing in Baldur's Gate, not far from a pier. The body is discovered propped against a fountain at the plaza's center. The victim is a bearded elf with an anchor plunged deep into his chest. A set of bloody bootprints lead away from the crime scene towards the Fisher's Wharf to the northwest, where a weathered houseboat is docked. One possible witness is a puking drunk man to the south from the Sailor's Crossing on Admiral's Way.
On Kythorn 21, the investigation continued on the Fisher's Wharf after fishing boats sailed out of the day, leaving behind an oddly decorated boat – home to Drusilla, a local eccentric alchemist. She welcomed Tav, the investigator, and testified while sharing freshly-brewed tea. The alchemist conveyed that she heard a terrible sound coming from the streets, and when she looked out – a shadow ran off towards the Heapside. She suggested the investigators ask around the Blushing Mermaid alehouse in that area about the sinister happenings. Before departing the old woman's boat home, Tav received a potion of invisibility from Drusilla to aid with the investigation. Soon, the body was carted off to the Harborside Hospital where a Flaming Fist-trusted mortician autopsied it. As the investigators returned to the streets of Baldur's Gate, a large man screamed "Thief!" as a shadowed figure fled toward the nearby Canary Lane.
Tav, the adventuring detective, returned to Canary Lane on Kythorn 22. Following the raucous sound, the investigator noticed a street urchin with a coin purse – the same purse belonging to the victim. After a chase, Tav caught the adolescent thief at a sewer grate. The thief declared it the territory of the Thieves' Guild. The investigator faced a dilemma; it was unwise descending into the Sewers of Baldur's Gate without an experienced guide. Unable to proceed, Tav realized that the lucky almiraj paw was lifted from the investigator's pocket. Tav thought that the Blushing Mermaid was the next place to visit as it was known for its Thieves' Guild activities that would help with following on the stolen purse and the almiraj paw.
On the 23 of Kythorn, the investigation continued in the Blushing Mermaid. Tav listened to gossip and asked around the tavern in search of clues and leads. One notable drunken rumor claimed that a butcher on the Market Street sold monster meat supplied to him by some tiefling. Subsequently, the investigator came across a gnomish reporter who approached Tav, recognizing a fellow people-watcher. The gnome introduced himself as Zilbarr Whistlepocket, a reporter for Baldur's Mouth who happened to be investigating the very same murder, third among a chain of strange and seemingly unconnected slayings. The murder that took place before the one on Sailor's Crossing shook Insight Park and one before that – a dragonborn found dead on the Silver Crescent Beach. After talking to a bartender, Tav found out that the urchin who stole from him was just a kid named Magpie – not a killer, just a hopeful thief who wanted to join the Guild.
The next day, 24 of Kythorn, Tav returned to Canary Lane to meet Magpie. The investigator followed a lanky youth who carried the same coin purse stolen from the body mere days earlier. The figure lured Tav to a sewer grate and warned the adventurer that the person Tav was investigating had become aware of the situation and that attracting that sort of attention was not a good thing. The youth left behind a sealed letter for Tav. However, the investigator was left with an uncanny feeling; something was off about that interaction. A spell lingered in the air, but Tav failed to pinpoint the magics.
Kythorn 24 was also when Tav visited the Harborside Hospital where the elven body was autopsied. Strangely enough, there were no reports on the Sailor's Crossing victim. Despite the lack of information, Tav found a single-use version of the speak with the dead token magic item on the mortician's desk. The investigator examined the victim's body left unattended – its eyes were removed, organs and pieces of flesh – missing. Lastly, the strangest part – the elf's fake beard became unglued. There, Tav overheard the mortician talking with a corpse collector, another possible suspect. They mentioned a recent murder of a dragonborn and that the body was interred in Cliffside Cemetery. A long day of the investigation came to an end, and Tav returned home – a humble abode on Loklee Street, named after Baldur's Gate's earliest historic name. At last, the investigator found a moment to unseal the envelope from the previous day. The letter addressed Tav personally, referring to the "Master." The letter's author takes about their Master being a "noxious angel" and "most vulgar of fiends." The letter continued mocking the detective's fruitless search and issuing Tav a challenge – one tenday to uncover the "Master's" identity. Failure would result in Tav's demise. The sinister letter was signed: Sceleritas Fel.
Tav visited the Silver Crescent Beach on Kythorn 27, following reports of something foul being washed ashore a tenday earlier. They found a canvas tarp the dead dragonborn was wrapped into when the body was tossed into the Chionthar. The cloth was stamped with a sign of a stonemason from Misty Court in the Tumbledown district. Tav concluded that the dragonborn body was likely disposed of in the Cliffside Cemetery. However, the detective had to rush off as there was yet another murder. A body was found hanged outside the Blade and Stars inn. A middle-aged half-orc was hung upside down on a butcher's hook, his throat sliced open, body – tied up with butcher's twine. The man was strewn by the inn's back entrance, where the kitchens received produce deliveries. Zilbarr Whistlepocket was already at the inn, scribbling away in his notepad. Zilbarr already knew the victim's identity – Magnus Shank, a butcher from Market Street. The gnome recommended Tav to find Selwyn Leventide, the butcher's supplier who frequented the Blushing Mermaid. Tav briefly interviewed the innkeeper named Lupin, who found the body. She advised the detective to visit the dead butcher's shop for clues.
The investigator returned to the Blushing Mermaid the same day. The bartender pointed Tav a tiefling in the back. Selwyn Leventide gave Tav another lead – for the same butcher shop on Market Street and its owner – Magnus. Selwyn claimed that the butcher was not just dealing in monster bits but also humanoid meat. When the tiefling found out, he fled in terror, but soon after, he was confronted by a strange man in a top hat who whispered sweet promises to fulfill his desires into Selwyn's ear. Selwyn himself was just a middleman – his supplier was Rourke Stonevalor – a Flaming Fist soldier and a worshipper of Ilmater.
On Kythorn 28, the investigation led Tav to a stonemason's workshop on foggy Misty Court – Alabaster Stonecrafts, run by twins dwarves. Sister Alabaster seemed uncomfortable with Tav's questioning but revealed that there were strange goings on in the district at night, right before the dragonborn was fished out of the Chionthar. She said that a certain gravedigger at Cliffside Cemetery was keeping strange late night hours, while Brother Alabaster claimed it were ghosts of Riverveins. Grom Skullsmash was her name.
Kythorn 29 led Tav to the Cliffside Cemetery, where the source of the tarp was found. The statue Balduran Looks Out to Sea was being prepared by stonemasons of Misty Court. Among the tools and tarp, the detective found a sharp dagger that once belonged to the dead dragonborn or was his murder weapon. Tav suspected that a weaponsmith from the Trident Lane could shine some light on the weapon. The next step in the investigation was the interrogation of the githyanki gravedigger Grom Skullsmash, Seli-Contracted Funerary Excavator. Grom agreed to help Tav to exhume the dragonborn and use the speak with the dead token on the corpse. The dragonborn told the detective that he was killed by a swift strike from the back as he was passing the Riverveins entrance. The dragonborn mentioned a fight at the Harbormaster's Office when asked who could wish harm on him. The victim did not recognize the dagger.
The second location visited on Kythorn 29 was the office of Baldur's Mouth to share the investigation notes with Zilbarr Whistlepocket. The gnome suggested Tav press the suspicious mortician for information. He also informed the detective that the dead body found in Insight Park was tangled in shrubbery the stabbed with a short sword. A person who could know more about the park was its druid overseer.
On Kythorn 30, Tav searched for a weaponsmith on Trident Lane, eventually finding a construct who manned a shop. The automaton did not recognize the blade but remembered a gravedigger from Tumbledown searching for just such a dagger for ritualistic bloodletting needs. The construct sent the gravedigger to the Sorcerous Sundries or Eastway Expeditions, where she could find what she was looking for. The same day later, Tav paid a visit to the Harborside Hospital once again. This time, the mortician, Ophelia Gravewaker, caved in under the interrogation and confirmed she was a supplier of humanoid meats. She was repentant and named the man who forced her to do such heinous deeds – a member of the Flaming Fist named Rourke Stonevalor, the same Ilmatari guard whom Tav met days earlier.
The investigation stretched into Flamerule 1. Tav visited the Seatower of Balduran in search of information on the Ilmatari Flaming Fist. Guardsmen of the tower denied a meeting with the Flaming Fist, who helmed the official investigation, believing Tav to have nothing but conspiracy theories and rumors. After some convincing, Tav was allowed in. Tav met with Rourke Stonevalor himself, who acted irritated and aggressive towards the adventurer. However, Tav was not in danger as Rourke announced that he had solved the murders – Selwyn Leventide was about to be arrested. Tav was still suspicious and continued on to the Shrine of the Suffering, a shrine to Ilmater, to further investigate Rourke Stonevalor. The shrine's priestess praised Rourke as an exemplar of the faith. In the shrine's soup kitchen, Tav met Mrs. Leventide, a statuesque bugbear, wife of Selwyn Leventide. The bugbear woman's eyes fared with anger when she was asked about Rourke Stonevalor, but she claimed that too many Flaming Fists passed through the shrine, and she could not remember that particular guard. Tav listened to rumors and whispers among the homeless in the soup kitchen. One of them liked about false imprisonment and cruelty of Rourke Stonevalor, and another one stated that Mrs. Leventide was, in fact, a close friend of Rourke Stonevalor. And some suggested Tav visit Leventide's Saint Sollars Way home.
It was time to visit Dumber's Rock and Insight Park, which was grown atop. On Flamerule 4, Tav met with the park's warden, Torimesh. The dwarven druid told Tav that the Flaming Fists dragged the victim to the Harborside Hospital days ago. Torimesh had little information to share, but he gave the investigator a one-use charm of speak with animals to aid with the case. The park was the location of the prophetic Drawing Tree. Torimesh offered to let Tav ask the tree a question in exchange for a delivery of herbs to Sorcerous Sundries on the other side of the Lower City. The murder scene offered little but a definite clue that the murder was done with the use of magic. After searching through the underbrush, Tav found a six-sided die used to play Baldur's Bones. It bore markings of the Low Lantern festhall. Another piece found was a lender's note from the Counting House signed by Grom Skullsmash of the Cliffside Cemetery. Later, Tav stopped by the Blushing Mermaid for more gossip. A group of whispering hin told Tav that Rourke Stonevalor had a deal with Selwyn Leventide and also had an affair with Mrs. Leventide. They met at a small apartment on Old Town Avenue. Another halfling claimed Rourke had dealings with The Guild. Tav's investigation was interrupted by yet another murder. Selwyn Leventide's body, waterlogged and frozen to death, was found within the Seatower of Balduran, where he was detained. Interestingly enough, at the time of the murder, Rourke Stonevalor was away from the Seatower on furlough. Tav was recommended to ask Flaming Fists about Rourke at the Low Lantern over a mug of ale.
Tav paid a visit to Sorcerous Sundries on Flamerule 5. The proprietor quickly recognized the dagger he sold to a white-scaled dragonborn named Crane; furthermore, the dagger was often used by cultists and had to be wielded by a sorcerer. Tav also finished the delivery for the druid – a shrieker plant, to the shopkeep's gleeful delight. The next stop was Insight Park. Tav received a prophecy promised by Torimesh. Under the Drawing Tree's bark, an image was formed in red sap: Tav, fleeing from Flaming Fist mercenaries across the streets of Baldur's Gate, while the detective's shadow was visibly reminiscing a dragonborn.
Later in the day, Tav received a courier message from Drusilla, who offered aid and asked Tav to come to her houseboat. The old alchemist revealed to Tav that she discovered a red handprint of a Dragonborn underneath the pier the other day. The mark led to an underground passage to the Undercity; some said it connected to the Riverveins – a site where dark cultists perform dark rituals for their dark gods. Another messenger summoned Tav to the Harborside Hospital, where the mortician prepared autopsy reports. The reports hinted at all victims' deaths had magic involvement, and the dragonborn victim was identified as Julikar Caeziryn, a dragonborn of white dragon ancestry. Late evening, after a long day, Tav returned to the home on Loklee Street. A strange pale man with a hooked red nose and pointy ears wearing a top hat was waiting for the detective. The mysterious individual extended Tav an offer for a cup of tea with his Master, who was sure to be parched after the detective was to be slaughtered. After dropping this strange threat, the man walked off into the night. After getting inside, Tav realized that a talisman – the gift of Drusilla's from a while back, was missing.
On Flamerule 6, Tav returned to the Cliffside Cemetery to investigate the apparent cultist githyanki. Grom was found in possession of a similar dagger. The gravedigger explained it as simply being her religion. When asked about the Insight Park murder, Grom claimed that she played Baldur's Bones vs. Felson Felegrim – easy money. As for alibi, the gravedigger stated she was doing the same thing she was doing every day – digging holes. And the druid protector did not allow her in Insight Park. Before parting ways, Tav noticed a figure in a top hap strolling into the nearby Riverveins entrance.
Another cryptic message from Drusilla arrived. Tav rushed to Fisher's Wharf only to find her boat missing. Her houseboat was anchored in the Gray Harbor, far from the docks. The detective found a row boat and swam closer to Drusilla's home. Now it was marked with a bloody handprint on the houseboat's hull. Inside, Tav discovered Drusilla's body, her hands removed. On the table, next to her sister Cate's urn, were placed Tav's personal items – the stolen lucky almiraj paw and the amulet that went missing the previous night. Suddenly a spirit contacted Tav from beyond the grave. Drusilla revealed that her sister switched "bodies" as she was dying. The eccentric alchemist was in Cate's magic urn. She warned Tav of the Flaming Fist's inevitable arrival and revealed that the murderer was a sorcerer who covered his tracks by murdering those involved in Baldur's Gate's petty quarrels. Drusilla was sure that the dragonborn who left a red handprint underneath the docks was the culprit and that he fled via the underground passageway Tav discovered on Flamerule 5.
Drusilla was right as the Flaming Fists arrived as soon as the conversation wrapped up. Tav rushed to swallow the potion of invisibility and avoided detection. Now Tav was faced with a choice: run home to Loklee Street, follow the dragonborn through underground ways, or contact The Guild by the Sewer Keep with the aid of Magpie and his thief contact named Crane.
Tav stayed on the run and reached the Sewer Keep on Flamerule 7 just west of Silver Crescent Beach. The investigator found the way into the sewer waterways with ease, where Crane of the Guild was waiting. He was an aging hobgoblin who wanted to find whoever murdered one of Crane's pickpockets. The hobgoblin also confessed he cheated at dice at the Low Lantern, driving Felson Felegrim into debt. Crane offered an agreement to Tav, the detective would help Crane to lure the murderer out, and the hobgoblin would keep Tav safe and hidden from the Fist. With the aid of Crane's thieving associates, they searched the tunnels under the Eastway district.
In the sewers, Tav noticed a rat that was squeaking at the investigator. Against common sense and Crane's warning, Tav wandered off to investigate the vermin using the charm of speak with animals. The rat squeaked: "Danger! Double danger this way!" and led Tav away, eventually leading to the corpse of Crane. How did this happen? Tav was just talking to the hobgoblin a moment prior. It was a trap set up by someone wearing Crane's shape. Tav sprinted away and through a tunnel towards a cavern where Tav was seemingly slain by a white-scaled dragonborn – the Dark Urge, the serial killer on the loose in Baldur's Gate, accompanied by Sceleritas Fel – the top-hat-wearing humanoid with whom Tav was acquainted several days earlier.
==Index==
:;Characters
::Cate • Crane • Dark Urge • Drusilla • E. Shearan • Felson Felegrim • Grom Skullsmash • Julikar Caeziryn • Leventide • Lupin • Magnus Shank • Magpie • Ophelia Gravewaker • Rourke Stonevalor • Sceleritas Fel • Selwyn Leventide • Tav • Torimesh • Zilbarr Whistlepocket
:;Creatures
::bugbear • dwarf • elf • githyanki • gnome • half-orc • halfling • horse • human • rat • seagull • tiefling
::
::angel • almiraj • barnacle • dragonborn • fiend • ghost • lamb
:;Locations
::Admiral's Way • Alabaster Stonecrafts • Baldur's Gate • Baldur's Mouth • Balduran Looks Out to Sea • Blade and Stars • Blushing Mermaid • Canary Lane • Chionthar River • Cliffside Cemetery • Counting House • Dumber's Rock • Eastway • Eastway Expeditions • Fisher's Wharf • Harbormaster's Office • Harborside Hospital • Heapside • Insight Park • Loklee Street • Low Lantern • Market Street (Baldur's Gate) • Misty Court • Old Town Avenue • Riverveins • Sailor's Crossing • Saint Sollars Way • Seatower • Seatower of Balduran • Sewer Keep • Sewers • Shrine of the Suffering • Silver Crescent Beach • Sorcerous Sundries • Thieves' Guild (Baldur's Gate) • Trident Lane
::
::Nine Hells • Undercity
:;Magic
::charm of speak with animals • potion of invisibility • speak with the dead token
:;Organizations
::Church of Ilmater • Flaming Fist
:;Religions
::Ilmater
:;Miscellaneous
::ale • anchor • Baldur's Bones • Baldur's Mouth • clay • copper • Drawing Tree • embalming fluid • herb • honeycomb • lute • mincemeat • poleaxe • shrieker plant • silk • sweetbread • tea • terra cotta • torch • tunic • top hat
::
::ink
==Appendix==
===Gallery===
Dragonborn murderer.png|The Dark Urge – dragonborn murderer.
Villains of the blood in bg.png|The villains of Blood in Baldur's Gate.
Category:Published in 2023
Category:Video games