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But as they approached they suddenly found themselves overwhelmed. A deep voice spoke directly into their minds, leaving them powerless. The Absolute.

It spoke of three emissaries who were its earthly lieutenants, and gave them a brief vision of the three. And it demanded they search for a “prism” which had been onboard the Mind Flayer ship.

But before their wills were completely subjugated, another form appeared in their minds – silencing the voice of the Absolute. It spoke no words. It gave no direction. They could still hear the Absolute if they listened closely. But it no longer overpowered their wills. And it looked exactly like the object Jasper had seen Shadowheart hiding away…

Lae-zel recognized it as well, and when they awoke she claimed that the writing etched upon it was ancient Githyanki. She accused Shadowheart of stealing it from her people, and demanded to know what exactly she was up to. Jasper was very interested in the answer to this question as well, but unfortunately Shadowheart had no answers. She said she had been intentionally mind-wiped by Sharan priests before embarking on the mission – so that she would be unable to reveal secrets to the Illithid. She knew nothing more than that she was to retrieve the object and return it to her temple in Baldur’s Gate. And she was the sole survivor of the mission. The argument between Shadowheart and Lae’zel grew heated, as Lae’zel wanted to return the artifact to her people while Shadowheart wanted to complete her mission. But Jasper observed that, for now, the object was the only thing standing between them and being enslaved to the Absolute. They simply could not afford to give it to anyone until that was resolved. Both women begrudgingly accepted his logic.

Of course, one more thing was needed before entering the Goblin Stronghold. A renewed disguise! Jasper had already seen that he received much more deference and cooperation as a drow than he ever would as a gnome – and so he re-used his earlier illusion.

The guards let them through without incident – all of them bearing some kind of ritual brands which glowed in the presence of a True Soul (which was apparently the name given to anyone infected with the Absolute’s “special” Illithid tadpole).

Once inside they saw an unexpected sight… the famous bard Volo tied down and nervously singing of the exploits of Dror Ragzlin the hobgoblin conquerer… Jasper tried to speak with the poor man, but he was quickly whisked away by his handlers as the “birdie” needed to return to his cage…

They easily talked their way into the main fortress – the old Temple of Selune. And inside the found an old goblin priestess, Priestess Gut, applying ritual brands to goblin and hobgoblin warriors. When Jasper went to speak to her she offered to brand him as well… but he declined the honor. They had a quick unwanted mind-meld, and the Priestess’s eyes grew wide. Jasper learned that she was a true believer in the absoluted – and knew nothing of the nature of her connection to the Absolute despite being infected herself. She, on the other hand, saw Jasper’s tadpoles as “strange shadows in his mind”, and offered assistance in rooting them out. At this point Jasper had little faith that the priestess could actually help, but had other reasons for wanting to get her away from the crowd.

She led him back to her own private shrine, and insisted that Jasper accompany her alone. No companions were permitted to follow. Inside she closed the door and then promised she could help if Jasper would only trust in the Absolute and allow her unrestricted access to his mind… Jasper had no intention of agreeing to any such thing. He could see perfectly well that the goblin’s interests were not at all benevolent. And he didn’t need a mind meld to recognize it. The priestess eyes glittered as she sneered at him. “The hard way is it? We can do that!”. And he felt the beginnings of a very strong magical assault on his mind.

At which point the to-this-point invisible Karlach grabbed Priestess Gut from behind and put an end to the foolishness. Jasper was no dummy.

They explored the Priestess’s private chambers, and found an old passage leading down below the main level. Inside they found a long hidden Sanctum of Selune – one of the few largely untouched remains of the original compound. Jasper studied the markings on the floor, realized they represented phases of the moon and were movable, and quickly adjusted them to proper alignment.

At which point a hidden doorway opened leading down deep into the depths. They weren’t quite sure where it ultimately led, but now was not the time to find out. The had other priorities at the moment.

Exploring the temple further they found Volo locked in a small cage in a room with a plate of truly wretched-looking food. His goblin keeper kept referring to him as a “birdie”, so Jasper suggested that the “birdie” was looking a bit peaked and could probably do with some fresh air. The goblin handler agreed and offered Jasper the key to take care of things. When they let Volo out he thanked them profusely, and offered to meet them back at camp later. At which point he doffed an invisibility potion and scuttled off.

Further exploration took them past torturers learning from a priest of Loviatar, goblins arguing over a pit of giant spiders, and other niceties. They eventually found their way to the Warg pens, where goblin children were throwing rocks at a dejected bear locked in a cage. Jasper could easily tell this was no ordinary bear, and a little slight of hand with a Mage Hand released the lock on the door. At which point the bear came roaring out and the goblin children sped away.

The bear immediately turned on the goblin guards and keepers, mauling them and tossing them left and right.

One of them managed to release the doors to the Warg pens, hoping to even the odds. But Jasper was a forest gnome, well versed in animal magics. He easily calmed the Wargs and convinced them to sit this one out.

After the battle the “Bear” returned to his true form – the Druid Halsin! He was not in the best of shape, but thanked them profusely for freeing him. He claimed – like Zevlor – that the goblin horde was largely held together by three leaders. The first was the Priestess Gut – which they had already dispatched. The second was a Drow woman named Minthara – the strategist behind the goblin’s activities. He warned that Minthara was a very shrewd woman, and not easily fooled. The final was a large hobgoblin named Dror Ragzlin. Dror looked the part of the typical goblin warlord, but Halsin warned he too was not to be underestimated. While he was large and strong and a fierce warrior, he was also well educated and understood much more of magic and its applications than was typical for his kind. He kept both shamans and warlocks on retainer to supplement his elite guard.

When they located Minthara, she initially believed them to be what they said – a scouting party working for the Absolute sent from the garrison at Moonrise Towers. But as Jasper began trying to both feel her out and mislead her as to the location and defenses of the Druidic Refuge, Minthara quickly became suspicious.

She dispelled his illusionary disguise, and appeared taken aback by what she saw. Whatever she expected, a smirking gnome was not it.

Nevertheless, the battle was on! She called to her goblin guards – but they appeared to have their hands fulll.

Leaving Jasper and Minthara to continue their discussion more forcefully.

The final lieutenant was not difficult to find. After restoring his disguise they headed to what had been the main worship hall for the temple – predictably finding it converted into a throne room. What they had *not* expected, however, was the hobgoblin warlord attempting a Speak with Dead ritual on a dead Illithid to learn why they had come and what they had been hiding…

The ritual did not appear to be going well, and when he saw Jasper enter he assumed he had been sent by Minthara to help with the effort. Jasper was only too willing. He had his own questions for the Illithid, and also wished to ensure that any questioning did not turn to his own presence on the ship.

It turned out this was the very Illithid which had implanted Jasper on the ship. Jasper had to phrase his questions carefully to avoid giving himself away. He learned that the Githyanki had been attempting to recover… something… that the Illithids had taken. And that the Illithid had already set up a base of operations somewhere nearby on Faerun. He was unable to determine why, and was unable to push too far on the topic of what the Absolute was and what it was trying to accomplish with the goblins without making Dror suspicious. It was clear, however, that all factions wanted the artifact that Shadowheart was carrying – whatever it was. They would do well to keep it concealed until they better knew exactly what they were dealing with.

Unfortunately, at that moment a goblin scout ran in with news of the Priestess’s demise. One of Dror’s warlocks grew suspicious – and dispelled Jasper’s disguise! The battle was on!

Jasper immediately conjured a dark cloud to conceal them all. They couldn’t see through it either – but now the archers and warlocks in the surrounding area couldn’t see to pick them apart from afar.

The battle was difficult. The foes were many and Drur was clever. Unfortunately for him he was *not*, however, particularly resistant to magic. When he got close Shadowheart paralyzed him with a timely Hold Person, and his honor guard quickly fell without his support.

At this point Jasper’s disguise no longer server a purpose, so he he declined to restore it. They fought their way through the remaining palace guard until they exited the front door. At which time Gale introduced the masses of formerly-celebrating goblins to the wonders of Fireball.

Meanwhile Karlach had fun with the over-zealous former door guard

That night at camp they all had a particularly vivid dream. Each of them met someone calling themselves a “Guardian”, who claimed to be protecting them from the Absolute and battling it in other realms. To Jasper’s it appeared as a lovely gnome druid woman, who strongly encouraged him to learn to make use of the psychic powers the Illithid tadpole could unlock in order to become strong enough to fight the Absolute. Jasper nodded and attempted to question her for more information, but was otherwise non-commital. He had absolutely no intention whatsoever of encouraging or connecting with the intruder in his head in any way, shape or form.

Upon waking he learned that all of his companions had had similar dreams. Some – like Gale and Astarion – thought that perhaps the advice had merit. Others – like Wyll, Shadowheart, and Lae’zel – leaned more to Jasper’s way of thinking. You couldn’t trust *anything* Illithid, and as likely as not the “Dream Guardian” was a manifestation of the tadpole itself. The “Guardian” did not appear to be aligned with the Absolute. At the least it very much advised against allowing the Absolute to learn of Shadowheart’s artifact. But Jasper wasn’t sure what angle it was playing.

When they returned to the Druid Grove, they found Halsin having a serious conversation with Kagha about her future. He recognized that she had found her way back to the light, but she had strayed *very* far leading up to it. He ultimately decided to demote her back to novice Druid. She would have to work her way back up from scratch – proving that this time she truly understood the lessons they were taught. Only then might she be allowed to return to a position of leadership and influence. To her credit, Kagha accepted the demotion and its rationale.

Zevlor was overjoyed to learn that the goblin host had been scattered. With the way to Baldur’s Gate open he and his tiefling refugees could continue on to the city as originally planned rather than continuing to wear out their welcome in the Druid Grove. He suggested that a Jasper allow the tieflings to throw them a proper party out of respect. It seemed worth a celebration, so Jasper agreed.

Afterwards, he had a long conversation with Halsin. Halsin told him that as near as he could tell the ultimate source of the “True Soul” tadpoles and the “Absolute” religion was Moonrise Towers. But the towers were deep in the Shadowlands – an area long since lost to Sharan influence and inimical to normal life. But before dealing with that there was a larger issue – reaching the Shadowlands in the first place. The first path led overland thru the mountains – an area currently held by hostile Githyanki. Likely the creche Lae’zel wanted to visit. The other path led through the Underdark itself – beginning with an entrance in the Sanctum of the Temple of Selune. Halsin was surprised to learn that they had already discovered that entrance.

So they had a lot to think about before continuing. They needed to rest. They needed to regroup. And they needed to decide the best path forward. But first, Jasper had one last task. He intended to deal with the hag of the swamp before the left this area for pastures beyond.

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Author’s Notes:

This is one of those branches that feel like Brynnlaw in BG2 – the potential to miss whole swaths of story-relevant content. So I tend to “cheat” – and find excuses to do both before continuing on. Such is the way of the RPG completionist.