Abazigal's Lair
Once you have survived your third trial you will be faced with the entrance to Abazigal's Lair, and the dragon's sire, Draconis. He is out to prove his worth to his father, so you are in for a hell of a fight almost immediately. Firstly he will summon Invisible Stalkers, followed by a Contingency and a Spell Trigger, and you should do likewise. He'll throw whatever magical powers he has at you in quick succession, so you should keep following his lead, whilst sending your Fighters in with their most powerful weapons (preferably weapons with Dragon beating capabilities). Keep the strongest Fighters trained on Draconis, whilst the others tackle the Invisible Stalkers, and don't forget to make full use of any powerful Potions and abilities you have. Once you have won this encounter, take the Brown Dragon's head as the ward to pass through the magical entrance.
In the Entry Halls you will be attacked by Lesser Earth Elementals and a Werewyvern called Ekim Cyre. His corpse will give up an Empty Breath Potion Flask, which you should save for later use, and you will find that only the eastern pool will allow you to progress through to the next chamber (both doors here are sealed for now).
In this next room (when the foes are defeated) is a font, which you should fill the Flask from. Please note that you do not need ever drink this Potion as just having it in your possession is enough for your entire party to benefit from its effects. Swim back through to the room from whence you came and you will find that another of the pools is now open for you to enter.
When you first reach the Kua-Toan Cave (via the pool) you will be attacked immediately by Kua-Toan archers and a Priest. Fight them without straying from the poolside as there are also two Greater Water Elementals in this area that you do not want to have to face at the same time. Another two of these Elementals are in the room to the north, guarding a Kua-Toa Captain, and when you have cleared this room, the rooms east and west are now available to you.
The western room is the source of the Watery foes, as it contains Olhydra, a Water Elemental Prince, who is one tough cookie. When he's defeated you can enter the final room which turns out to be a cell containing a Monk who has been tortured in ghastly ways by the Kua-Toans. His words about navigating the Lair are fairly irrelevant, but he will give you a rope which is essential for accessing the remaining pools in the Entry Hall. He'll also tell you that Abazigal's inner chambers are guarded by Fll'yissetat, a Dragon held under a Geas, so even if you defeat the beholden one in combat, the magic sealing the gates wont dispel. Instead you will need a Scroll of Reversal to break the Geas, and it just so happens that this particular monk had one, but it was taken when he was captured. He then proceeds to die on you… So rifle through his belongings anyway to find treasure and go back to the Entry hall and take the middle pool (thanks to the rope).
Beyond this pool is Iycanth's chambers. Iycanth, when you meet him, is revealed to be quite mad, but providing you do not act hostile towards him he will reveal that he has the Monk's scroll. Unfortunately it will only be relinquished to you if you do him a favour and bring him the eyestalk of a Gauth. Fortunately you don't have to do this yourself as, although you could pursue the Gauth yourself (Iycanth tells you that he saw the Gauth dive into a pool to the east), if you use the Stone to Flesh Scroll found in the same area as the Empty Breath font, three statues of Amateur Adventurers can be brought to life and sent instead. They prove more than capable of the task and even bring you a little bonus to boot.
Now take the pool to the south of Iycath's Lab and you'll come up against Fll'yissetat the Dragon. If you have the Scroll of Reversal from Iycanth though, you will make a Geas-bound Dragon very happy indeed, and with her gratitude she hands you the wardstone you need to enter Abazigal's Lair. Do rest before entering though, as this is going to be a heck of a fight.
There are several Frost Salamanders sharing the chamber with Abazigal, so dispatch them first before taking on the BhaalSpawn (who starts the battle in human form and eventually transforms into a Dragon). When in human form, although mightily strong, he will refrain from casting Spells, so keep healing your party all the while. But when he's a Dragon expect a torrent of very high-level Spells to rain upon you. You should really have Magic Resistance and Death Ward cast over your party members as often as possible. Once this battle is over you should loot the body quickly before once again being drawn back to the Pocket Plane to face another challenge.
Another explanation from the Solar is in order as Yaga-Shura's spirit is summoned to explain the Evil BhaalSpawn's plans. The five of them were slaying as many BhaalSpawn as they could find so that their essence could gather in the Abyss and resurrect Bhaal himself. The reward for them would be the elevation to Demi-Gods, and the position of Bhaals Agents. But it seems that by killing so many BhaalSpawn yourself, you have utwittingly hastened Bhaal's return anyway. Now you must take the fourth challenge.
This comes in the shape of Cyric, the God of Murder. He asks you many questions first to gauge your strength and the type of threat you will be, then summons three Favoured of Cyric for you to fight. You will have to take them on alone, as the rest of your party must remain outside. The biggest threat is that if you have low Magical Resistance a good hit from any of them can kill you immediately. However, a win sends Cyric away, and you are reunited with your increasingly worried party.
Elminster now appears, and explains that if you wish to get back into the Monstary to defeat Balthazar you should visit Saemon Havarian (your old 'friend' from SOA) in the Smuggler's Cave in Amkethran. He will outline two plans to get into the Monastary, either of which you can follow to a successful conclusion.
Firstly, you can disguise yourself in some Monks' clothes that he has in order to bluff your way in through the guards at the gate. Unfortunately he delivers you straight into their hands - he's betrayed you yet again. This time though he hasn't drugged you so you can fight the guards and finally make your way into Balthazar's domain through the north door.
Alternatively, you can use plan B, and take a secret passageway through the Cave of the Dead. It is originally locked, but you can get a key from Faheed, whose house location will be revealed to you by the Barkeeper in the Tavern. Go and talk to Faheed and he will relinquish the key gladly, as he has no love for Balthazar. You need to take it to the Cave of the Dead, climb the ladder on the far right (after inspecting for traps) and enter the secret passage.
NOTE: Plan C is a full frontal assault, but you'll have to take on all the might of the Monastic order. I don't like plan C.
When you finally reach Balthazar himself in his inner sanctum he will tell you a tale. It turns out that Melissan has been telling you porkies. It is her not he that is leader of the five who are trying to resurrect Bhaal. He has indeed been trying to raise an army to take on Abazigal and Sendai rather than help them. And after killing the BhaalSpawn they were to commit ritual suicide to stop the return of the God of Murder, which all means that you are the next to be eliminated. Although this fight is tough, you have already faced far tougher, and when finished you once again return to the Pocket Plane to face your last challenge.
First the Solar summons Melissan, who freely admits the diabolical dupe. She is a High-Priestess of Bhaal who has been transferring the essence of dead BhaalSpawn to resurrect her God. And now, thanks to you, has enough essence to control the entire other realm. She then dares you to meet her in the Abyss, and you realise that you must to conclude this story.
Now you face the fifth and final challenge. You must beat The Ravager and his respawning Bone Blades. They are tough, and the Ravager has Blade Barrier so anybody hitting him takes damage. But again, he's not the toughest of opponents you have faced. Now your work in the Pocket Plane is done, and it will disappear after you are given the choice to go straight to the Abyss or back to the Monstary. Take the Monastic route as you can return to Amekthran and restock and regroup for your final chapter (There is no chance to rest in the Abyss, so make sure you are totally ready).
Player Guide Index
- Chapter 8: The Siege of Saradush
- Chapter 9: Amkethran
- Chapter 10: The Throne of Bhaal
- New Items and Weapons
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