Baldur's Gate : The Sword Coast Chronicles : NWN2 Persistent World

A celebration of the city's heroes concluded more somberly than expected as word spread that Dame Bettany the Patient, paladin of Tyr and a champion who risked her life to defeat the demons at Ulgoth's Beard, had been murdered. As the Temple of Tyr closed ranks to both mourn and investigate the death of one of their own, questions arose as to who could possibly be behind such a deed. Word soon spread that an anonymous source had identified the prime suspect as Robb Strong, an outspoken figurehead in the Commons who recently had become more vocal in his opposition to the current Commons' Speaker. Supposedly, a witness had spotted Robb hovering over Dame Bettany's corpse, drenched in her blood. A warrant was issued but the suspect had long since gone into hiding.

Now, with Robb Strong still at large, the City Watch issues a bounty for any information that will lead to his capture. Meanwhile, Sir Eustace the Fair launches his own manhunt for the suspect over the objections of some within the Temple of Tyr. As Bettany's brother-in-arms and fellow paladin of the Evenhanded, it was widely known among religious circles that the pair shared a romantic affection for one another, despite that affection having never been consummated. Those who spot the knight and his retinue marching through the city see a man who is nearly overcome with rage while simultaneously beside himself with grief.

Meanwhile, it does not go unnoticed that Lord Vincent Hargrove, the Scion of Siamorphe that had previously been brought in for questioning by the Temple of Tyr as the possible mastermind behind the plot to assassinate the Speaker of the Commons, now walks free. The evidence that had been brought forth by various Commons allies implicating the lord had been determined to be circumstantial. Under intense interrogation, the lord protested - and apparently convinced - the Tyrrans of his innocence. Although the Tyrrans promise the public the matter is not closed, without any further leads, the investigation seems to have stalled.

Those with sharp memories recall that it was the assassination plot that ultimately resulted in one Cory Strong landing himself in prison for a misguided attempt at avenging the Commons' Speaker. Whether Hargrove's release played a part in Bettany's murder now seems only too certain.

For weeks, the fugitive and accused murderer Robb Strong leveraged his connections within the city to evade capture. Pulling strings and calling in favors, he secured safehouses and ducked the city's patrols. For a time, it seemed he might actually beat the odds and escape the long arm of the law; after all, he had for a tenday and more dodged the Flaming Fist, the City Watch, and the Temple of Tyr alike.

All that was to end on 18 Tarsakh, 1361. A plan by his supporters to smuggle Strong out of the city through the Black Dragon Gate failed due to mistrust and paranoia within the Commons itself. Strong's faction of supporters began to suspect those loyal to Rhaeg of conspiring against them, despite Virin's protests of being there to help. In the chaos of the encounter, Strong was seen knocking out a guard, and thus sounded a citywide alarm.

He might have escaped then still, despite the hail of arrows raining down at him from the battlements overhead, had fate not decided to intervene. From the Temples District, Sir Eustace the Fair marched into the Wide and straight into the scuffle. Seeing unconscious bodies at Robb's feet and more certain than ever of the man's guilt for the murder of his beloved Bettany, the paladin of Tyr charged. An attempt by an unidentified mage to whisk Robb to safety was too slow by a fraction of a second, and Eustace's flail connected with a horrific crunch against Robb Strong's head.

Seconds into the aftermath of Strong's death, two things happened: first, the mage that had transformed into a dragon to drag Strong to safety now managed only to steal away with his corpse, arrows and spells flying after them as draconic wings carried them northward. Second, white clouds swirled overhead as a bolt of divine energy struck down from the sky. Even blinded, Tyr knew that his knight had erred. Such was his decree: Robb Strong's death by Sir Eustace's hand was not justice. Sir Eustace the Fair was now Eustace the Fallen. In shock at this judgment, the ex-paladin fell to his knees, his words spoken in disbelief: "I ... I was so sure ..."

A crowd of onlookers and adventurers had by then stumbled onto the scene; among them were those who were discontent to seeing a dragon fly off with Robb Strong's corpse. The Priestess Layla saw Eustace's flail - still crusted over with Strong's blood and brain matter - and cast a spell of Resurrection using the viscera to summon Strong's soul back to the Prime. The call was answered and Robb Strong lived once more, finding himself back where he had been slain and now in the custody of the Flaming Fist. Whether he would have preferred to remain in the dragon's clutches, none but he could say.

Now, with Robb Strong at last in custody, the authorities finally have an opportunity to question their prime suspect in Dame Bettany's murder. Some are certain that the second Strong brother will soon be joining the first in prison. But the astute might wonder ... would Tyr really have fallen his own paladin for slaying a man guilty of another Tyrran's murder?

An attempt by the Triad Knight Gaven Arkais to interview Robb Strong concerning his part in Dame Bettany's death took an unexpected turn on Kythorn 4, 1361. Arriving at the Flaming Fist Headquarters in the Seatower District, Gaven was eventually received by Captain Beluarion of the Flaming Fist. Considering the last time Strong encountered a paladin of the Triad, he was slain by the now-fallen Sir Eustace, Captain Beluarion's superiors required an oath of peace by Sir Arkalis before he was to be allowed within the Flaming Fist cells. Having no objection, Sir Arkalis made his oath and the Captain led him down to where Robb Strong was being held.

Within the Seatower's dungeon, it did not take long to realize something was gravely wrong. Robb Strong was nowhere to be found. A furious Captain Beluarion demanded an explanation from the jailor on duty. The man pointed to a blank piece of parchment, apparently convinced it was a set of transfer orders signed by the Captain himself for Strong to be relocated to the Watch holding cells in the Eastway District. While Beluarion remained behind to secure the premises from further ensorcelments, the Triad Knight gave chase to the transfer caravan, summoning aid via Sending in the form of the diminutive elf Micar'Mizzrym Iliathor.

Gaven reached the caravan first, coming across a gruesome scene. The Fist soldiers commanded to transport Robb Strong had all been slain by masked wizards and a sinister woman in black wielding a cruel scythe. The assailants had extricated Robb Strong from his shackles, and the woman plied bitter words in his ear to sway him to flee with her: "They will never believe your innocence. They will throw you in prison for the rest of your life, just as they did with your brother. If you value your freedom, your only choice is to come with me."

At the very last moment, just as the woman-in-black was about to teleport the pair of them away, Gaven pleaded for Strong to reconsider: whatever he said, it worked. Robb Strong hesitated, and then at the very last moment, broke free of his would-be rescuer. The woman-in-black's flight was successful, absent its intended target.

Seeing their plot foiled, the remaining masked mages attacked; Gaven incapacitated one of them with a crushing shield bash while Mizzrym pinned the other with a Mage's Fist. The last of the group - seeing his compatriots disabled, fled via a spell of his own - but not before hearing his compatriot name Mizzrym "Betrayer," pure venom on his tongue. While one of the remaining incapacitated assailants managed to bite down on a suicide pill, the other was prevented from doing so by Mizzrym's quick thinking. Not long after, the Fist arrived to secure the scene. Beluarion was said to be grateful for the outside intervention.

Questions linger. Who are these masked magi and did they truly intend to free Robb Strong? What motive could they possess for such a thing ... and how does a diminutive elf play into their machinations?

Above the temple of Torm in Baldur's Gate, for the next two days, a giant floating metal gauntlet is seen, glowing with a white aura. A sign of Torm, to those who know it. A duty performed. An agreement enforced. Righteousness triumphed, despite a cost.

If asked, the clergy will explain a champion of Torm fell to the trickery of evil, but in the fall ensured the Son of Bane will no longer make designs upon the Temple of Torm in Baldur's Gate.

The grave of Numestra is found dug open - the coffin gone and in its place the body of a dead Watchman. Nearby, on the path, another Watchman is also dead, his body covered in frostbite.

The City Watch begins an investigation.

The investigation into the murder of Dame Bettany the Patient took a most curious turn in the summer of 1361; new questions arose when Robb Strong, once considered the strongest of suspects with consideration to the facts (eyewitness testimony placing him and his blood-stained hands at the scene of the crime, his subsequent attempt to flee the city, and his disdain for city authorities), forgoed an attempt to break him out of Fist custody in favor cooperation. After hours of separate interviews by Flaming Fist interrogators, members of the City Watch, and even the Triad Knight, Sir Gaven Arkalis and his friend, the elven mage Micar'mizzrym Iliathor, a sliver of the truth came to light.

Realizing that Robb's memories had been tampered with by a powerful curse, the Triad Knight and the elven mage set about undoing the dark magics and in the process saw what no one else had seen - a yet-to-be identified figure, cloaked in shadow, slaying Dame Bettany and altering Robb Strong's memories to paint him the culprit. Confirmed in the aftermath by Flaming Fist battlemagi, the hunt now begins for the true murderer. Alas, with only a vague description to follow, there is little hope that the guilty party will soon be brought to justice.

As for Robb Strong, the militant member of the Commons was finally released from Fist custody. But if he expected to return home to vindicating fanfare, he found only tragedy instead. Rather than returning to the overjoyed faces of his father Braddon and his paramour Risha, he instead arrived to a horrifying scene: his father and his lover, both slain. The guilty party? His former betrothed, a half-orc by the name of Rose. If there was a reason that could be given that might explain what happened, Rose would not be able to deliver it. In the shock of having committed two killings, the guilt and shame overwhelmed her and she took her own life rather than face Robb's disbelieving eyes.

The news spread like a flashfire through the Heapside District. And although Robb is cleared of suspicion or involvement in these new crimes, some began to wonder if the man was still cursed. Surely no man could have suffered so much woe without some involvement by outside influences. No one could be that unlucky ... could they?

Robb would not wait to find out. In the dead of night, he left the Gate; none of his friends expect his return.

The day opens in the Wide of Baldur's Gate, and rumors begin to spread of a large donation made to the local temple of Tymora. Few had the chance to see the donor, but some described them as a kind man with an Amnian accent and a thick black beard. Those who received the thousands of gold praised the generosity of the donation. One local priest is quoted: “A thousand blessings upon you, and a thousand yet to come! Truly, those who give so generously are favored by the luck of Our Smiling Lady.”

An unusual standoff occurred between the City Watch and a contingent of noble house's estate guards some tenday ago. Onlookers reported seeing two women - one dressed in rags and barely conscious, the other screaming for help - fleeing into the markets of the Wide. As City Watch soldiers arrived to investigate the incident, Mountsend retainers intervened to prevent who they alleged were thieves from being taken into Watch custody. Weapons drawn, they insisted that the alleged thieves should be held in the Mountsend Estate instead, even accusing innocent bystanders of possibly being in league with their quarry.

It was not until another retinue of City Watchmen arrived on the scene that the Mountsend guards backed off. With a crowd of witnesses now watching the confrontation and their advantage in numbers rapidly dwindling, the lord's soldiers reassessed their chances and withdrew to the estate. Finally, the City Watch was able to take custody of the purported thieves ... but the story they heard back at the Watch headquarters was significantly different.

Rather than being a thief, one of the women was none other than Micaela Navar, a disciple of the Unravellers who had survived her cult's annihilation in the battle outside Boareskyr Bridge. She claimed to have been imprisoned in the Mountsend estate, where followers of the Black Sun with Amnian accents performed unnatural experiments upon her. The other woman who had fled with her was actually her rescuer; they had escaped by the skin of their teeth.

When confronted with these claims, Lord Rictor Mountsend's response was to deny everything. Much to Navar's dismay, by the time the Watch was able to prepare the relevant warrants and documents to search the Mountsend estate, there was no sign of any dungeon, nor trace of any Amnian Cyricists.

For now, under the pretense of keeping her under their protection, the City Watch is holding Micaela Navar in custody. As for Navar's ally, Virin of the Commons, she was released on all charges. As for how this matter will unfold ... nothing is certain.

// Further investigation into these events will have to wait until after I am back from break!

Temple of Bhaal - the 'dragon' (AI-generated)