Meanwhile, refugees from Elturgard continue to arrive
with dire claims that nothing remains of Elturel except a
crater in the ground.
Among those fleeing Elturgard are several Hellrid-
ers-paladins who have sworn oaths to defend Elturel.
Those warriors escaped the city's fate only because they
weren't in Elturel when it fell, and the Flaming Fist has
taken to arresting them on sight, lest they try to stir up
trouble in Baldur's Gate. The Hell riders are not going
quietly, however, leadfog to violence and bloodshed.
EvIL IN BALDUR's GATE
Without Ulder Ravengard to stay their hand, Flaming
Fist captains are brutally exercising their autonomy un-
der the veneer of maintaining order. They've closed the
outer gates to keep Baldur's Gate safe from the refugee
"threat," effectively trapping Baldurians behind their
own waJls. With the Flaming Fist distracted by the ref-
ugee crisis, city folk are being hunted and murdered in
the streets by cultists of the Dead Three- the evil gods
Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul. Without the Flaming Fist to
curtail them, these cultists have grown bold and now
move freely within the city, their activities financed and
supported in secret by Duke Thalamra Vanthampur.
Among the first refugees to arrive at Baldur's Gate
was none other than Thavius Kreeg, the architect of
Elturel's doom. Duke Vanthampur is sheltering Kreeg
in the dungeon beneath her villa until such time as
Baldur's Gate suffers the same fate as Elturel. Like
Kreeg, the Vanthampur family is firmly in debt to Zariel,
the archdevil of Avernus. Using money purloined from
Tiamat's hoard by Zariel's minions on Avernus, Duke
Vantbampur hired Dead Three cultists to stir up trou-
ble while her sons stole the Shield of the Hidden Lord
from a tomb beneath the city. Using the power of this
magic shield, Duke Vanthampur and Thavius Kreeg
believe they can bring about the downfall of BaJdur's
Gate in much the same way the Companion was used
against Elturel. The shield binds the essence of a pow-
erful devil named Gargauth, whose presence in Baidu r's
Gate has fomented much of the evil that lurks in the
hearts of the city's residents.
To save Baldur's Gate, the adventurers must defeat
the Dead Three cultists, track down their evil financiers,
wrest the Shield of the Hidden Lord from Duke Van-
thampur, and pursue Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard into
the Nine Hells.
RUNNING THIS CHAPTER
Diagram 1.1 is a flowchart that presents the key events
ofthis chapter in sequence. The adventurers begin
as 1st-level characters, advancing to 2nd level if they
survive the encounter in Elf song Tavern (page 16)
and 3rd level after conquering the dungeon of the Dead
Three (page 20). The challenges they must overcome
at the Low Lantern (page 28) and Vanthampur Villa
(page 32) are great enough to advance them to 4th
level. After conquering the sewer complex below the
villa (page 37) and obtaining valuable information at
Candlekeep (page 45), the characters advance to 5th
level before entering the Nine Hells in chapter 2.
r THE BASILIS K GATE
For characters of level 1Shortly after their arrival at the Basilisk Gate, the
adventurers are drafted by a Flaming Fist captain
and instructed to seek out and destroy Dead Three
followers responsible for a murder spree.
r ELFSONG TAVERN
For characters of level^1
The adventurers question a spy named Tarina. In
exchange for their help, she tells them where the
Dead Three followers are hiding.
I DUNGEON OF THE DEAD THREE
j For characters of level^2The adventurers corner the Dead Three followers
and one of Duke Vanthampur's sons in a dungeon
before a chance encounter with Tiamat's cultists.
r -- THE LOW LANTERN
r
r
For characters of level 3
The characters confront another of Duke Van-
thampur's sons at a wharf-side tavern called the
Low Lantern. There, they meet a fugitive Hellrider J
named Reya Mantlemorn..
VANTHAMPU R VILLA
For characters of level^3Armed with evidence that Duke Vanthampur is
a clear and present danger to Baldur's Gate, the
adventurers attack her villa and acquire an infernal
puzzle box from the last of her three sons.
UNDER THE VILLA
For chara cters of level^4In the dungeon and sewers beneath Vanthampur
Villa, the adventurers encounter Thavius Kreeg
and find the Shield of the Hidden Lord.
r CANDLEKEEP ~
For characters of level 4. •. IThe adventurers take Thavius Kreeg's infernal
puzzle box to a tiefling sage at CandJekeep. To save
Elturel, she gives them a map of Avernus, a way to
reach the Nine Hells. and a hollyphant guide. __)
DIAGRAM 1. 1: CHAPTER I f"LOW(;HARTCHAPTER I I A TALE OF TWO C ITIF.S fl