42
duke needs his help to ascertain the magical properties
of the celestial shield, which her family "acquired" from
a crypt under the city. Despite being a practiced liar,Thavius has no lie to explain his diabolical shadow.
If she's with the party, Reya Mantlemorn is awestruck
in the presence of the high overseer, and won't allowthe characters to harm Thavius as long as she believes
he's innoce nt of wrongdoing. His altered shadow is
not damning enough evidence. Convincing Reya that
Thavius is corrupt can be accomplished by forcing a
confession out of him with a successful DC 15 Cha-
risma (Intimidation) check, or by proving that he has
Jost his spellcasting abilities. If the characters kill
Thavius, they can encounter him again in chapter 3,
after his soul is turned into a devil.
Shield of the Hidden Lord. The devil Gargauth is
bound into the Shield of the Hidden Lord and wants toescape from it. The fiend believes it can break out once
the shield is taken to the Nine Hells- and it needs the
characters' help to get there.Gargauth senses the presence of the characters when
they enter the room and telepathically contacts one of
them at random. Referring to itself as the Hidden Lord,
the devil claims to be a celestial being and vows to help
the characters rescue Elturel, provided they take theshield with them into the Nine Hells. The Hidden Lord
also warns that a secret society is after the shield, and
that it's only a matte r of time before its evil members
find it. Gargauth claims that this secret society doesn't
want the shield's powers to be used for good, which is
the truth.Duke Vanthampur and Thavius Kreeg have promised
to help Gargauth break out of the shield, provided the
fiend spreads corruption throughout the city by unitingthe patriars behind the duke-and, by extension, behind
the archdevil Zariel. Only then can Baldur's Gate suffer
the same fate as Elturel. However, Gargauth is happy to
take advantage of a more expedient means of re turningto the Nine Hells if the characters offer it one. The Hid-
den Lord has no loyalty to anyone but itself.
TuAVIUS KREEG
Medium humanoid (human), lawful evilArmor Class 10
Hit Points 40 (9d8)
Speed 30 ft.STR
12 (+l)DEX
10 (+O)CON
11 (+O)INT
15 (+2)WIS
18 (+4)CHA
16 (+3)Skills Deception +S, Medicine +6, Persuasion +S, Religion +4
Senses passive Perception 14
Languages Abyssal, Common, Infernal
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)Shadow of Guilt. Thavius's shadow is that of a pudgy, horned
devil with small wings.ACTIO NS
Mace. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 4 (ld6 + 1) bludgeoning damage.CHAPTER l I A TALE OF TWO ClTrESTreasure. The eight coffers are unlocked and contain
money belonging to the Vanthampur family, as well as
treasure stolen from Tiamat's hoard on Avernus. DukeVanthampur plans to use this combined treasure to
bribe the city's patriars and government officials into
supporting her bid to become the new grand duke.
Coffer 1 contains 30 electrum ingots (10 gp each)
belonging to the Vanthampur family.Coffers 2, 3, and 4 each contain 100 gp belonging to
the Vanthampur family.
Coffe r 5 contains two pieces of a broken ceremonial
dagger stolen from Tiamat's hoard: a curved ivory bladebearing Dracooic runes that spell out "Fang," along with
a bone hilt wrapped in leather strips and studded with
gemstones. A mending cantrip can make the nonmagi-
cal dagger whole again, restoring its value (250 gp).Coffers 6 and 7 each contain 100 pp belonging to the
Vanthampur family.
Coffer 8 contains twenty azurite gemstones (10 gp
each) stolen from Tiamat's hoard.FINAL ENCOUNTERS IN
BALDUR'S GATE
If the characters fail to locate Thavius Kreeg's infernal
puzzle box (see area V13) or the Shield of the Hidden
Lord (see area V36), an NPC such as Reya Mantlemorn
or Falaster Fisk recommends a more thorough search
of the Vanthampur estate. As a Hellrider, Reya mightbe able to sense the presence of the celestial s hield
and urge the characters to retrieve it, lest it fall into evil
hands. Similarly, Falaster loathes to leave the puzzle
box behind for someone else to snatch up.
If S lobberchops the tressym (see area VS) is with theparty, it can lead characters to the puzzle box. Captured
villains can also lead characters to the puzzle box or theshield, as needed. Once these items are found, Falaster
strongly urges the characters to deliver them to Sylvira
Savikas at Candlekeep.
lf invited to join the characters on their journey co
Candlekeep, Reya and Falaste r r eadily accept. Falasterhas a modest dwelling in Little CaUmshan, a walled
neighborhood in the Outer City, and suggests making abrief stop there so he can equip himself with weapons
before continuing the journey to Candlekeep.
REPORTING TO CAPTAIN ZODGE
Once the characters wipe out the Vanthampur family
and its devil-worshiping cult, they can return to Captain
Zodge to deliver their report, surrender their Flaming
Fist badges, and receive any payment owed to them.
Zodge is gratified to learn that the Vanthampurs are
no longer his concern. If the characters report that one
or more family members are still alive, Zodge promises
to hunt them down and punish them for their crimes.
COMMANDER PORTYR
As the characters conclude their business with Captain
Zodge, the meeting is interrupted by the arrival of a
higher-ranking member of the Flaming Fist. Read or
paraphrase the following text to the players: