Baelen Bonecloak

Baelen Bonecloak is a dwarf found in the Dread Hollow. He can be found trapped in the Bibberbang Grotto to the northwest of the Myconid Colony during the Find the Mushroom Picker quest given by his wife, . After surviving this encounter, he can be later found at Bonecloak's Apothecary in the Lower City.
== Overview ==
Baelen and run Bonecloak's Apothecary in Baldur's Gate. Needing to restock one of the more popular and expensive items at their store, , they travelled to the Underdark. The two set up a temporary camp in Ebonlake Grotto with a myconid colony, and Derryth sent Baelen off to collect the mushroom.
== Involvement ==
=== Act One ===
Baelen can be found trapped in the middle of the Bibberbang Grotto to the northwest of the Myconid Colony. He has been separated from his and needs the party's help retrieving the to safely escape the explosive Bibberbang field. While Baelen's natural resistance to poison would normally help him with the noxious fumes of the Bibberbang, his dropped torch will set their spores alight if triggered, and cause a chain of explosions across the entire field that would no doubt kill him and any other unprepared adventurers.
The party can try to carefully retrieve his scroll to throw or hand to him, or have him use their own scroll if they happen to have one so that he can teleport out of the field. Alternatively, picking up the torch (or extinguishing it) and providing Baelen with healing is enough to have him survive should the mushrooms be agitated. Once safely out of the field, Baelen displays some confusion and acts as if he and the party were in the middle of a conversation he forgot about. After a brief exchange of words, he gives the party a as thanks and runs back to his wife. 
Once they are reunited, Baelen rests near their tent. When asked how he got into his predicament, he recalls (with some difficulty) he was attempting to pick Noblestalk when the ledge he was on gave way and deposited him in the middle of the field. He cannot explain very well why his mind is how it is now and directs any inquirers to Derryth. Derryth herself is cold when speaking of Baelen, and expresses more concern about how he has not retrieved than how he almost died. They have been married over eighty years and the first seventy years were not pleasant, as Baelen was a heavy drinker and abusive towards her, drawing attention to her scars. According to their Deep Rothé, Baelen used to kick him before but treats him better now. The Rothé even expresses he is missing Baelen and his scratches. Derryth concludes by saying she will likely be sending Baelen out again to pick Noblestalk, if not do it herself."My husband. Eighty soggin' years together, and he leaves me in the lurch like this.""Sure I did. Before he could do me any worse damage than he did for the first seventy years of our marriage."
If having the Noblestalk, Baelen is happy for Derryth as it helps them keep their shop, Bonecloak's Apothecary in Baldur's Gate afloat. He can be given the Noblestalk directly once the party learns that it could restore his mind, and he gladly consumes it so that he can help his wife with the shop. Once he is restored, however, his attitude shifts back to his old self, and he does not waste time verbally berating his wife for using him as a workhorse when he was not of right mind. Furthermore, the couple's Deep Rothé comments that he sounds different now, like his old self, his Angry self" and that he hopes Baelen does not start kicking him again. Baelen thanks the party and invites them to visit him at his shop when they get there, while Derryth expresses her disgust at the party and refuses to trade, telling them to leave her alone.
Should Baelen die in the Bibberbang field, Derryth shows more grief about him failing to do his job than about his death. In contrast, if Derryth is killed before Baelen is reunited with her, he mourns over her body, saying he is nothing without her. If the party admits to killing her, he turns hostile. Otherwise he says that he should not have left her alone, and he cannot be given the Noblestalk.
=== Act Three ===
At Bonecloak's Apothecary, if he was not given the Noblestalk, Baelen can be found cheerfully tending to the shop, greeting any customers that approach. Going through upstairs in this iteration reveals that, at some point in the past, Derryth was especially sick of Baelen's drinking and abuse after their return from one Underdark expedition and vowed in writing if he hits me again, he's going to find some in his porridge the next morning, an outburst she herself is surprised at later on, amending that she should hide her journal lest people get the wrong idea.
If Baelen was given the Noblestalk previously, he can instead be found alone at his shop, having taken over the inventory that Derryth was previously selling. It appears Derryth had run off one night, fearing his wrath for using him. However, seeing as how there are Absolutists in the city and a murderer terrorizing the citizenry, there is not much for him to complain about as he has not had any unfortunate run-ins with them so far. He even goes as far to joke that, with any luck, the trouble will end up finding Derryth instead. Should the party condemn him, he states that it is what he does to make ends meet, assuming that the party has likewise not been able to get to Baldur's Gate without getting their hands dirty. In this iteration, Derryth's journal instead talks about how she regrets how the years she's spent suffering under her husband had hardened her heart and made her as cold as Baelen was. And while she has been able to put up with him in the past, the simple return of Baelen's old self has killed her spirit more than any of his past abuse ever did, so she has resolved to leave him.
Should Baelen not survive his Underdark expedition, Derryth can be found alone at Bonecloak's. While she is outwardly as abrasive as ever, she turns melancholy when thinking of her late husband, stating that they both deserved better than how their lives turned out. She reckons that Baelen's soul found its way to the , wasting away unclaimed as a faithless. Her journal in this iteration concurs that Derryth dearly misses her husband, and that she has been thinking of using their own merchandise to cope, though she rebuffs herself, stating that doing so was the very reason Baelen lost his own mind.
Finally, if Derryth was killed in the Underdark and Baelen left alone, or if both Baelen and Derryth die in Act One, Bonecloak's Apothecary is found still closed, with a simple left out front, "Gone shroom hunting."
== Related literature ==
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=== Written by Baelen ===
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== Related quests ==
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== Speak with Dead ==
Baelen can be spoken to with .
Party member: Who are you?
* Baelen Bonecloak: Baelen... Bonecloak...
Party member: What was your profession?
* Baelen Bonecloak: Alchemist... shop... in Baldur's Gate...
Party member: How did you die?
* If Baelen dies from a bibberbang explosion
** Baelen Bonecloak: Hunting... noblestalk... fell... bibberbang... explosion...
* If Baelen does not die from a bibberbang explosion and does not see his killer
** Baelen Bonecloak: Can't... remember... just... nothing...
Party member: Why were you in the Underdark?
* Baelen Bonecloak: Hunting... ingredients... nobestalk... with my love...
** Party member: Where is your wife?
*** Baelen Bonecloak: Derryth... with myconids... helping... gnome...
Party member: Did you have any valuables?
* Baelen Bonecloak: Home... shop... Baldur's Gate... Bonecloak's...
== Notes and references ==
Category:Dwarves
Category:Gold Dwarves
Category:Humanoids
Category:Characters
Category:Characters in the Underdark
Category:Characters in the Lower City
Category:Characters in Act One
Category:Characters in Act Three
Category:Traders
Category:Authors
Category:Available to Speak with Dead