Shandalar's quest (Ice Island) down, next, Durlag's Tower! ...Basement.
This was where all the best stuff in the game was going to be. It's a pity the game is practically over by then.
First though, with EIGHT winterwolf pelts on us after that Ice Island nonsense, we traveled all the way down back to Nashkel. The shopkeeper here paid us 500 gold for each pelt, so that's a tidy 4k gold trip. Then we back up again to Beregost for some rest before making the trip to Durlag's Tower.
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Durlag's Tower was just as we left it. The conveniently placed merchant was still hanging around outside too.
We had already cleared the levels above ground, but the levels below ground were far more challenging. Durlag's Tower, being pure expansion pack content, held some of the most challenging encounters in the game. Arguably harder than the main game.
Walking down to the cellar, we ran into a few ghasts which were dealt with Branwen's turning undead and ranged fire. Imoen had to stop us from walking right into traps while engaging them.
This was where we met Bayard, an adventurer with a dart in his abdomen who was on his way out. We chatted with him while Imoen dismantled traps on this floor.
"-COUGH- Who… who are you?" Bayard asked. "Ahh, a wanderer not unlike meself. Best you turn and walk on, friend, this place does not accept visitors with grace. Better you are alive and leaving, like me."
"Who might you be? I did not expect to see others here," I asked.
"You should expect to see many more things that you did not expect. Heheh… oww… don't make me laugh," Bayard said, gesturing to the dart wound. "Me friends and I came here just as you did. It looks a rewarding place, but I have decided it is beyond my ability,"
"Tis too soon for us to turn back," Branwen pronounced. "We have not tested ourselves against the challenges here yet, be it trap or creature."
"And I got traps covered!" Imoen hollered from where she was working. "Not this one yet. I meant in general."
"If you live long enough to fight the creatures that call this place home, count yourself lucky. The very walls within will conspire to keep you at bay," Bayard scoffed. "Mere traps test only your dexterity, but this place is more than a simple doorknocker. Durlag was a sick, sick man, and I tell you that he meant to kill those that entered, not just hinder. Sure there be traps, triggered by wire or step or sound, but there are TESTS as well, tests he made to find friend or foe. You will need more than your agile fingers to escape what comes. Some traps give no second chance. Attention must be paid, or death will easily take you."
"You seem quite certain this place is dangerous. What makes you so sure, and why have you abandoned your friends to it?" Jaheira asked.
"I have not abandoned my friends. Young they may be, but they are old enough to make up their own minds. I will not babysit anyone who can take up the sword to defend themselves. I say the risk, and if they wish to continue, it is their own fate they decide. Me, I be thinking that it is better to live. This place is death. It is in the air, and it gets in your clothes. My friends, they say, "By the gods, what is that stench?" And I tell them, "It's the sthink of death, citizens.""
"One of your friends, he did not happened to be named Dalton, did he?" I asked.
Yes, I still remember quests that I picked up from Ulgoth's Beard. Of COURSE my party left it to me to be the group's note taker, hmph.
"You know the lad, or did his mother send you to check on him? She is a worrisome little parent, isn't she? Perhaps rightly so, I worried about the boy too. He does not take much of this seriously, and when he realizes what he has been through it may be a rude awakening, to be sure. He is with my fellows, deeper than I wished to go. You may find them if you search, but I think the way they went has been blacked. There be so many passages it seems Durlag felt he could afford to collapse a few behind the unwary," Bayard explained. "This place is not a ruin; it is not open to the ages. This place was designed to keep people out, or to kill them. Even the simplest of doors seem locked with wardstones. If you enter here, you had best be prepared to succeed or die. Ahh, you have inspired a lecture from me, but your life is yours to do with what you will. I must go. Good luck to you. I do wish you well."
And that's our introduction to the peril of Durlag's ...Basement.
Loot in the cellar: some gems including a STAR SAPHIRE, Leather Armor +1, Ring of the Protection +1
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Some folks recommend heading down here early for some early game cash. Eh. I don't really have problems with money in the early game. If I did, I would have prioritized taking out Bassilus ASAP in spite of everyone's protests for that sweet 5k reward.
...in retrospect I should have done exactly that! 5k early on is really nice. Well, I had an easy enough time of it as it is so I guess it didn't matter either way.
We searched around the cellar to find a secret door that led deeper into Durlag's basement.
Seriously, they should have called it Durlag's Dungeon instead of Tower if it was so much emphasis was going to be in the bottom levels instead of the Tower above ground.
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Basement level 1
We passed by an opulent dining table. Perhaps this was where guests would have been properly received.
Further in, four dwarven golems stood around a blocked stairwell. Each golem spoke riddles in a synthesized voice. Clockwise, what each golem said was:
Golem 1: "I am the warrior's curse
I steal his future
I mar his past
The more he has, the less it seems
He becomes a slave
Of glittering things
Yet I hunger... Feed me that which glitters beyond all else."
Golem 2: "I am the warrior's bane
I live in the darkness of his soul
I bring him to his knees,
Trembling and weeping
Unable to lift a hand in his own defense
Yet I sleep... Awaken Me."
Golem 3: "I am the warrior's madness
I curse him with trust and respect
I slow the blade in its course
By stealing his passion for blood
And offering a softer emotion in return
Yet I thirst for more... Give me the sweet crimson drink of laughter and passion."
Golem 4: "I am the warrior's fate
I raise him above his brethren
I amplify his deeds
He becomes scornful, where once he had respect
He becomes a giant, where once he was a man
Yet, I lack the proper honor––Raise me up in glory
Through the chronicles of my deeds, pride shall be honored
Through the passing of knowledge my sword shall display its glory
Then you shall know that I am well pleased."
The party conferred with each other on the meaning of the riddle.
"Okay, each golem seems to be modeled after some vice or emotion. And they want something that represents that virtue," I summarised for the party.
"Riddles and treasure hunts. Games for children doesn't really strike me as particularly frightening," Jaheira said. "I assume each item is protected by guardians or traps?"
Someone's never watched Squid Games. I wanted to ask Neera if she knew what Squid Games was, but thought better of it.
"We'll see. First, it would be good to figure out what we're looking for, for each golem."
Thankfully, each golem was willing to repeat its little limerick so that we could write it all out and examine each one carefully.
"The first golem that wants glittering things has to be Greed. And it wants something in here that 'glitters beyond all else'," Imoen concluded.
The golem's name is actually Avarice, which means the same thing really.
"The warrior's bane has to be cowardice. 'Yet I sleep... Awaken Me'? Perhaps a bell of some sort, though I don't know what that has to do with cowardice," Branwen said.
It's actually Fear, but cowardice is close enough.
"I'm kind of stuck on the warrior's madness. What vice curses the warrior with trust and respect? What softer emotion does it provide?" Jaheira admitted.
"I think the golem is meant to be love. Durlag seemed to think love was a poor virtue for a warrior, apparently," Neera said, shrugging. "'Yet I thirst for more... Give me the sweet crimson drink of laughter and passion.' Crimson drink is almost for certain to be wine, unless Durlag was also a vampire."
Exactly correct. That golem is Love and we were going to be looking for wine.
Wine in an ancient dungeon, ugh.
As for the final golem...
"The warrior's fate is… death?" Khalid asked, gulping.
"No, the riddle speaks of being amplifying deeds and being raised in glory. So the vice is Pride. Riddle even mentions pride. Whereas the item for the Pride golem, uh…"
"'Through the chronicles of my deeds, pride shall be honored. Through the passing of knowledge my sword shall display its glory.' Chronicles means book or scroll. Not sure about the sword bit," Neera suggested.
I summarised our conclusions so far. "So, something glittering for Greed, something loud for Fear, wine for Love, and a piece of literature for Pride. Good work, everyone. The treasure hunt is on!"