[Let's Play] Baldur's Gate 3 - part fourteen

Ellu'kha and her group were exploring the depths of the Underdark.

They had found the last piece of the puzzle when it came to the Adamantine Forge — they just needed to go there; they had discovered that the parasites in their heads were so strong that an ordinary mindflayer couldn't communicate with them; and now they were doing one more deed for the mushroom people — finding the drow that commanded the grey dwarves.

Once the drow's head sat at the feet of the sovereign mushroom, it would know that its mushroom grove would be safe.

Where they had taken care of the first lot of grey dwarves sat a boat. They would take it across the water and see what lay upon the other side. The dwarves had obviously come to this region in this boat; perhaps they would meet this drow immediately upon crossing the lake.

Wouldn't that be a lucky turn of events.

Sailing into the darkness, another boat eventually sidled up beside them. There were grey dwarves on board.

They glared at Ellu'kha and demanded where she had gotten this boat from. This belonged to one of their men — what had happened to him?

Ellu'kha narrowed her eyes at him and lied very convincingly: she had found the corpses of the grey dwarves by the water side. It appeared they had been killed by the mushrooms.

The grey dwarf sighed and bade Ellu'kha follow the boat after his. These mushroom people were nothing but trouble, he mumbled.

They docked in what appeared to be a giant underground temple to Shar — she would need to talk to Shadowheart, alone, at some point and see what she had to say about this place.

A bitchy woman grey dwarf greeted them at the docks and started spouting off about a True Soul Nere, who she mockingly referred to as Twat Soul every now and then. While the grey dwarves seemed to have no love for the True Souls, they also seemed compelled by them.

Ellu'kha pretended that she was a True Soul and demanded entry and the dwarf gripped her head, lacking parasite, and grudgingly obeyed.

Instead of heading right for the leaders of this place, Ellu'kha decided that they should explore first. This temple was massive and it appeared as though there were many areas where the dwarves hadn't accessed yet.

Luckily they knew how to lockpick and Gale, of course, had his knocking spell to open particularly fiddly doors.

In a section of the temple that hadn't been ransacked by dwarves, they found a deep gnome. She could sense that Ellu'kha had a parasite and warned her not to step any closer to her or she would blow them all to smithereens.

They luckily managed to persuade her not to do it and the gnome fell to her knees in tears — she didn't want to go to Moonrise Towers. Ellu'kha told her to get away, to run, they would not be harming her but there were grey dwarves nearby.

Surprised and cautious, the gnome ran, thinking Ellu'kha to be bonkers.

They swept through the abandoned chambers of this temple, read dusty books, found several treasures, and plenty of dead Shar worshippers whose bones were near as dust. They had been there a long time.

Finally they found their way to where a dwarf was shouting at gnomes to dig, dig, dig; True Soul Nere was behind that rubble and he must be freed!

They had found the drow. Now they just had to work out how to get his head without being set upon by five hundred dwarves.

So many dwarves were murmuring with discontent about the Twat Souls and the Absolute and how they were sick and tired of not being paid for their hard work.

If Ellu'kha didn't know any better, she would think that thoughts of a mutiny were stirring...

She sidled up to some muttering dwarves and convinced them that she was there to kill the Twat Soul, if only she had some backup...

The mutinous dwarves agreed and soon a plan was put into action.

Ellu'kha's group would free the Twat Soul from the rubble, they would help in the fight to get the coin that was rightfully their's, and she could have Nere's head.

Easy peasy. Ellu'kha climbed up a ladder and found some high ground. Shadowheart and Lae'zel stayed in the centre. Gale stood off to the side and prepared his spells. Shadowheart threw a bomb at the rubble, and boom, the rubble was loose and Nere was free.

At first he was grateful to have finally been freed, but then he discovered Ellu'kha's true intentions — indeed, she told him right to his face that she had been sent by the mushroom people to take his head, and take his head she would.

He yelled at her for her audacity and told the dwarves to spill her blood, but she just smirked at him and summoned the mutinous dwarves to her side. Together they would make Nere pay.

There were more mutinous dwarves than she had first thought and they all spilled into the area to fight. Nere was taken down with ease and when he was dead the dwarves ravaged his pockets... and even gave her a share of the coin!

Once that was done, Ellu'kha leant down and sawed off Nere's head with a small dagger. It was time to throw this filth down at the feet of the sovereign mushroom.

With a whoosh of runes, Ellu'kha and her people teleported to the mushroom village and strode proudly towards the sovereign with Nere's head clutched firmly in hand.

She had performed the deed as requested.

The sovereign mushroom was pleased. His Circle would be safe, it would grow, and the drow's flesh would feed its growth.

And the mushroom people danced and cheered in their own way, spraying their spores out and infecting everyone within reach with a sharp joy.

As the mushroom men danced, the deep gnomes from the temple crept forth from the shadows. They were free from their dwarven captors and the threat of Moonrise Towers was no longer something they need fear... except, one of their own had been taken there. Perhaps Ellu'kha and her friends could bring him back, if they were going that way, of course.

That was indeed the way they were going, slowly, eventually, but surely. If they came across their gnome friend, they would find a way to get him out of there.

 

Until next time! 😊

 

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_{All screenshots in this post are courtesy of me, @kaelci and are from the game: Baldur's Gate 3}