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As they explored, they came upon an old abandoned homestead in a particularly gloomy area of the Shadowlands. Sensing a presence Jasper explored further, until he met a peculiar boy calling himself Oliver – with a significant feel of shadow fey about him. Oliver desperately wanted to play hide-and-seek, and would not discuss anything else until they agreed. He attempted to cheat by magically disappearing, but this accomplished little against Jasper’s familiarity with illusion. In a huff, Oliver complained to “Mummy and Daddy” about the indignity.

“Mummy” and “Daddy” proved to be powerful beings of shadow themselves, who immediately attempted to suck them all dry. Fortunately Jasper had picked up a few more tricks by now specifically to strengthen their hands in the Shadowlands, and they were able to banish the spectres. Oliver merely pouted, gave them a magic ring as a prize “that the hadn’t really earned”, and refused to engage with them further. He claimed to need “more challenging” playmates.

Upon approaching they were intercepted by a large band of suspicious Harpers…. led by someone Jasper instantly recognized by her reputation. Jaheira of Baldur’s Gate! Unfortunately she did *not* know him. And worse she had the means to detect their tadpole infection – which meant she immediately suspected he and his band were infiltrators for the Absolute! Jasper had to do some inspired fast talking to convince her that they had the same enemy.

Once convinced he was not an immediate threat, Jaheira welcomed Jasper to “The Last Light Inn” and “invited” him inside the Tavern for a drink. He saw her add… something… to both glasses before handing one to him. He took a sniff, and his face must have given away his realization. Jaheira nodded. “Truth potion. In both cups. Let us dispense with the probing and cut to the chase.”

Jaheira told him she was here because the Absolute had been making assaults probing the outer defenses of Baldur’s Gate. The Harpers had traced the source to the Shadowlands, but had been unable to penetrate deeply enough to reach their stronghold. The Absolutistss here were led by a man named Ketheric Thorm. Ketheric was a former governer of the area who Jaheira thought she had helped kill 100 years ago. He had once been a devout Selunite, but had converted to Shar in the wake of personal tragedy. His attempts to conquer the area were ended by a coalition of Harpers and Druids – including both Jaheira and Halsin. He had unleashed the Shadow Curse through Shar as he died.

Jaheira’s Harpers had had several skirmishes and pitched battles with Ketheric and his forces in the area, and were unable to push on to Moonrise Towers itself because Ketheric appeared utterly un-killable. He ignored any spell or injury, and re-appeared un-touched in short order. Jaheira wanted Jasper to infiltrate the Tower and discover the source of Ketheric’s power so that she could “once more remove his blight from the world”. A cleric of Selune named Isobel was providing the Inn’s protection, and Jaheira urged them to talk to her about protection from the Shadows so that they could explore more freely.

It turned out that there were several other contingents sheltering in the safety of the Inn. The Tieflings from the Grove had attempted to reach Baldur’s Gate, and had been ambushed by Absolute raiders. Zevlor had vanished, many of them had been slain or captured, and the remainder were sheltering here. Jasper promised to do what he could to find and free the others.

He found Mol – the scruffy leader of a band of orphan tiefling pickpockets he had met at the Grove – playing chess with an all too familiar face…. Raphael. In his human guise. Jasper offered Mol some friendly advice to help her seal the game, and Raphael smiled. He once again offered to help them with their “problem”, and suggested they were biting off far more than they knew in the Shadowlands. Jasper pointedly ignored the offer and demanded to know what Raphael was doing with Mol. “Merely offering her the deal… of a lifetime.” He then vanished with a smile.

Jasper attempted to convince Mol not to trust *anything* Raphael might offer, but she was far too headstrong and self-assured to take the threat as seriously as she should. Jasper made her promise to review the exact terms of any deal extremely carefully, but he had a sinking feeling as she walked away. He suspected he would not be able to save her from her own decisions.

Meanwhile Karlach had been to see Dammon – a tiefling blacksmith who had once worked in the Hells. He was able to use some of the rarer ores they had found in the GrymForge to construct better shielding for her infernal heart. For the first time since her escape from the Hells she was able to safely touch people, and she was absolutely ecstatic!

Councillor Florrick and a patrol of Flaming Fist soldiers were also here – joining forces with the Harpers in their desire to rescue Wyll’s father Lord Ravenguard from Moonrise Towers. They had found a long-lost Flaming Fist wandering dazed in the gloom, wearing century-old insignia. He was sleeping in a perpetual fever, crying out about “Thaniel”. Upon hearing the name Jasper immediately brought Halsin to see him.

Halsin did what he could, but said they needed to find a way to wake the man to learn what he knew. But he considered this of critical importance, as recovering Thaniel was a key part of dispelling the Shadow Curse. Halsin believed they needed to find something to jog the man’s memories and guide him back to wakefulness. Jasper recognized callouses on the man’s fingers as evidence he had played the lute, but one had not been found in his belongings. He had been found in the ruins of Reithwin Town (Ketheric’s former home), wandering near the old House of Healing.

They found Isobel in an upstairs suite, standing on a balcony performing the ritual that kept the estate encompassed in protective Moonlight. When she finished she offered them magical protection, but warned that it wouldn’t be enough in the deepest regions of Shadow. She also expressed great interest in how the forces of the Absolute were still able to move about relatively freely. But before she could say much more….

… A man with dark wings swooped down onto the balcony. Isobel instantly recognized him as “Marcus” – one of the Flaming Fist soldiers stationed here. But he had clearly been corrupted. He claimed to have willingly turned to the Absolute, and said Lord Throne wished Isobel to accompany him. She refused, and he smiled an evil smile. “I wasn’t *asking*”. Then all hell broke loose.

Winged horrors crashed in through the roof and skylights – attacking everyone in the Inn!

Jaheira concentrated on tying up as much of the attacking forces as she could – keeping them away from her charges.

But there were too many. And they were still able to abduct several of the Inn’s inhabitants… including Mol! Her gang would be devastated, and would beg Jasper to rescue her.

Karlach charged in as usual, flattening creatures right and left.

Shadowheart instictively moved to protect Isobel, muttering at the lunacy of a Sharan cleric finding herself defending a cleric of Selune from Ketheric’s forces.

Jasper had his hands full with Marcus, but eventually defeated the traitorous guardsman.

They were able to fight off the attack without surrendering Isobel, but they needed an advantage. Fast. First they needed to know how the Absolute were protecting themselves from the Curse. Jaheira’s spies informed them that a goblin caravan was bringing supplies to the Tower, and she asked them to assist with ambushing it and trying to find the source of its protection.

Jasper identified a good ambush spot, in the ruins of an old homestead. He deployed his Harpers, and waited until the goblins were in the perfect position to signal the assault.

As they came into view in the gloom, it turned out the goblins were being led by a large Drider carrying a strange lantern on a twisted staff.

Despite his presence, the ambush went largely as planned, with the Drider and his goblins cut down from afar by their hidden archers.

And when Jasper got a close look at the lantern, he discovered what their protection had been. The Absolutists were trapping pixies and forcing them to provide magical protection! He immediately released this one – a foul-mouthed mite named Dolly Thrice – and in return she granted them permanent protection from the Shadow Curse.

After reporting back to Jaheira, they set out for Reithwin. As they had learned earlier Reithwin had been Ketheric’s ancestral home, and in his time as governor some personal tragedy had led him to turn from Selune to Shar and root out Selune’s remaining support. Evidence of this conflict was everywhere in Reithwin… as well as evidence of some subsequent conflict. Dead Dark Justiciars – also lay scattered about, and they appeared to have been slain by claw…

The entry to Reithwin was funneled through the old Toll House, and inside they found evidence that the last Toll Master, one Gerringothe Thorm, had gone steadily mad as the curse settled in – consumed by a greed. They soon found her at the exit to the town proper, demanding all of their gold as payment for entry. She appeared to believe she was required to collect every ounce of gold entering the city. Her mind was clearly not all there, and Jasper convinced her that she had been fired and he had been sent as her replacement! She had a brief moment of clarity, and then exploded in a shower of coins.

Inside the town itself, they came upon the remains of the tavern. It was being haunted by spectral patrons, including a spectral bard singing incongruously jaunty tunes. A large grotesque form could be seen tending bar at the back.

The form at the bar turned out to be Thisobold Thorm – apparently one of Ketheric’s sons. He too had been transformed by the Curse into an embodiment of his own vices. He held out a foul-looking concoction and demanded that Jasper drink in order to converse.

Fortunately for Jasper it didn’t take much in the way of slight-of-hand and illusion to convince Thisobold that he was drinking his share – while actually doing no such thing.

Jasper swapped stories for tidbits of information, pretending to drink with Thisobold all the while. When he asked about Ketheric’s immortality he was told “No, must not, can not, will not mention her.” But finally he was able to coax out:

“I – I know you. I knew, I know, I am knowing. You want father’s personal mysterious – (secret) – secret. No, not, never! Father said, ordered, commanded. Don’t say it, don’t say it! The cage. Her cage. Talk and… perish, die, buried. Buried in Thorm tomb. Father told me. I can’t perish – no, nay, neither. Too strong, too…“

But at this point Thisobold had consumed too much of his own concoction, and burst and dissolved away.

As they approached the former House of Healing, they found Arabella – the tiefling child they had rescued from Kagha and her snake – entangling two shadow creatures with what appeared to be druidic magic. She was trying t”o find her parents. Jasper asked about the spellcasting, and she told him she had been “changed” from exposure to the Druid’s ritual. And she now had begun manifesting magic. Jasper told her to return to his camp with Halsin, while they would look for her parents as they explored.

The “House of Healing” proved to be anything but, with evidence of past horrors and torturous treatments abounding. A grotesque “nurse” was tending two two clearly dead tieflings on beds. Apparently Arabella’s parents hat not survived.

In the center of the madhouse they found a grotesque elven man, surrounded by “nurses”, lecturing while operating on a bound man. He was philosophizing about pain focusing the glory of Shar – and how mastering it brought one closer to Oblivion. To Jasper he almost sounded like a minion of Loviatar rather than Shar, and Shadowheart looked thoroughly disgusted with his theology.

When he noticed Jasper he introduced himself as Master Surgeon Malus Thorm, and wished to know which techniques Jasper needed demonstrated to refine his mastery. Jasper disparaged the crude instruments and poor technique of the nurses, and suggested that if Malus *truly* wanted to understand the enlightenment of pain he would allow the nurses to operate upon *him*. Malus stared blankly back for a second… and then agreed, delighted. He continued laughing deleriously as his own servants took him apart piece by piece…

At least no more unsuspecting travellers would be captured at his direction.

They found an old lute among the Surgeon’s collection of items confiscated from patients, but Jasper wasn’t quite ready to return to the Inn just yet. Now that they were here, there next stop would be infiltrating Moonrise Tower – Ketheric’s primary base of operations. Jasper wanted to know exactly what he was dealing with here.

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Author’s Notes:

I very much enjoyed the degree to which a clever wit and a quick tongue could get Jasper through much of this section where others may have to resort to the sword. I doubt we’ll be able to talk Ketheric to death ala Fallout, but turning evils unleashed by the Curse back upon themselves is so very, very Jasper.