Find Ketheric Thorm's Relic: Difference between revisions

After entering Moonrise Towers, the party is urged to go to the audience chamber. Enter it, and Ketheric is on a throne while one of his minions, Disciple Z'rell, is interrogating some goblins. {{CharLink|Fezzerk}} is one of the goblins from the [[Blighted Village]] and he pleads for his life. The party can attempt to plead their case with Ketheric, but he refuses to believe they have any worth and orders the new True Souls to handle it. He leaves for his quarters and Z'rell tells the party to do whatever they want with them. The goblins can be killed, or set free. The party also has the option to try attacking Thorm, but he simply walks away and tells Z'rell to deal with it, and the whole area becomes hostile.

After dealing with the goblins, Z'rell must be reported to. She's up the stairs behind the throne in the audience chamber. Speak to her, and she telepathically connects with the party to see how the goblins died. Next, she tries to figure out if the party is loyal to the Absolute. The party can attempt to distract her with romantic thoughts of their love interest (Persuasion DC 14), fill their mind with fake love for the Absolute (Deception DC 14), distract her with their hunger for power, or use a special dialogue for Monks, Rogues, or Fighters.  

If successful, Z'rell gives the party a new task - track down {{CharLink|Balthazar}}, a servant of Thorm's who the cult has lost contact with. He was last seen at the Thorm Mausoleum. Z'rell gives the party a key to his room and instructs them to take a Moonlantern and touch nothing else. However, the party can access a secret area in his room in order to start {{Quest|Balthazar's Experiment}}.

There are two other ways to start the quest beyond speaking to Z'rell. The party can either pickpocket the key to Balthazar's room or loot it from Z'rell's corpse. Entering his room, Balthazar's Diary reveals his activities. If Minthara is a member of the party, she also encourages the party to search Balthazar's room to find answers on the relic.

If the party drinks with Thisobald Thorm in the Waning Moon, they can learn a little bit more about Thorm's secrets. After drinking three times with him, Thisobald starts ranting. "I - I know you. I knew, I know, I am knowing. You want father's personal mysterious - (secret) - secret. No, not, never! Father said, ordered, commanded. Don't say it, don't say it! The cage. Her cage. Talk and... perish, die, buried. Buried in Thorm tomb. Father told me." This grants a hint as to Thorm's relic.

Pursuing Balthazar leads the party to [[Grand Mausoleum]]. The Grand Mausoleum is north of the House of Healing. Enter the Mausoleum after being accosted by {{CharLink|Raphael}} and there is a small puzzle to proceed forward. There are three paintings with buttons underneath them, press them in the following order to open the way: Moonrise Towers, Grief, General. Move north using the traversal gem to enter the [[Gauntlet of Shar]].

After the combat encounter, Balthazar can be located in a room behind a big circular door. He will introduce himself as a servant of Ketheric Thorm and that he is there to retrieve the Nightsong. He will press the party into helping him since they are there and he might as well make use of them.  

If the party read {{SmRarityItem|Research Notes (Balthazar)}} and knows the secret of the Nightsong, the party can reveal that they know and Balthazar will ask why he shouldn't just kill them right away:

If passed, Balthazar will reveal that Ketheric Thorm's relic is the Nightsong, and the source of his invulnerability and that he must protect it to protect him. The party can then opt to ask for help:

Passing this check will reward the party with the {{SmRarityItem|Summon Golem Bell}} to summon {{CharLink|Flesh}}.

A combat encounter will always trigger on conclusion of this conversation, where Dark Justiciar Avengers attack both the undead servants and the party. Once this combat resolves, the party may have the opportunity to speak to Balthazar further and learn more about the relic he is searching for. There is also the option to simply attack and kill Balthazar at any time after this encounter. It is also possible to fully avoid contact with Balthazar and his servants until entering the Shadowfell.

The party must then overcome each of {{CharLink|Shar|Shar's}} trials and collect the Umbral Gems to gain access to the Shadowfell. They may also find and either ally with or kill Balthazar.

'''WARNING: Entering Shadowfell locks the party out of many side quests, and pushes the party to the end of Act Two!'''

If Balthazar was not killed, he arrives in the Shadowfell immediately after the party, thanking them for their service in completing the trials. He floats ahead and tells the party to come with him to witness greatness. Once the party leaps to the heart of the Shadowfell, they learn the Nightsong is not an object, but an aasimar woman named {{CharLink|Aylin|Dame Aylin}} who has been held captive by Thorm using the power of Balthazar to share her immortal life with him:

* {{Dialogue option|Go on, then. Take the Nightsong to Ketheric. Get it over with.}} {{Approval|Karlach|-5}} {{Approval|Halsin|-1}} {{Approval|Wyll|-1}} {{Approval|Gale|-1}}

* {{Dialogue option|The Nightsong is angel-born. It deserves freedom.}} {{Approval|Lae'zel|+1}} {{Approval|Gale|+1}} {{Approval|Wyll|+1}} {{Approval|Karlach|+1}} {{Approval|Halsin|+1}}

* {{Dialogue option|The Moonmaiden's light dances around this one... You will harm her no more, necromancer.|tags=Cleric of Selûne, Good Cleric}} {{Approval|Lae'zel|+1}} {{Approval|Gale|+1}} {{Approval|Wyll|+1}} {{Approval|Karlach|+1}} {{Approval|Halsin|+1}}

* {{Dialogue option|You will torture this angel-born no longer, necromancer.|tags=Good Cleric}} {{Approval|Lae'zel|+1}} {{Approval|Gale|+1}} {{Approval|Wyll|+1}} {{Approval|Karlach|+1}} {{Approval|Halsin|+1}}

* {{Dialogue option|''Attack him.''}} {{Approval|Lae'zel|+1}} {{Approval|Gale|+1}} {{Approval|Wyll|+1}} {{Approval|Karlach|+1}} {{Approval|Halsin|+1}}

Once Balthazar is dealt with, the party can then decide to free Aylin.

If Shadowheart is in the party, she can kill the Nightsong and become the Dark Justiciar she always dreamed she'd be, or she can be convinced to spare her.

If Shadowheart is not brought along, then she immediately confronts the party for denying her the destiny she'd always dreamed of. She leaves the party. Additionally, the Nightsong can only be killed by Shadowheart - otherwise, attempting to do so does nothing but annoy Dame Aylin.

If the Nightsong is freed, she thanks the party. If Shadowheart spared her, then she throws the Spear of Night into the abyss of the Shadowfell. However, Dame Aylin grants her a new weapon as thanks - the {{SmRarityItem|Moonlight Glaive}}. Then, Aylin flies off to face Thorm. After leaving the Shadowfell, Lady Shar subjects Shadowheart to unimaginable torment before sending her back to the mortal realm, and Shadowheart loses her favour. After completing {{Quest|Defeat Ketheric Thorm}}, upon speaking to Dame Aylin in camp, Shadowheart will be rewarded with {{SmRarityItem|Selûne's Spear of Night}}.

If Shadowheart kills the Nightsong, she becomes the Dark Justiciar and gains {{SmRarityItem|Shar's Spear of Evening}}. However, the party loses a valuable ally in the Nightsong. There is a major consequence for Last Light Inn due to Shadowheart's actions. Isobel is overwhelmed and unable to sustain her protection magic over the Inn, causing all within to fall to the shadow curse. Shadowheart refers to this as cleansing the resistance to Lady Shar's will. Additionally, unlike instances where Isobel is kidnapped in {{Quest|Resolve the Abduction}}, Jaheira is nowhere to be found and does not aid the party in the Last Light Inn fight.

The final meeting with Ketheric can go very differently depending on if the party aided him or sabotaged him. However, it always results in fighting against Ketheric. If the party released the Nightsong, they're prompted to go to Moonrise Towers and assault it, resulting in a showdown with Thorm at the top of the tower. If the party allowed Balthazar to kidnap the Nightsong, they report back to Z'rell and are either charged with a new mission, {{Quest|Capture Isobel the Selûnite Cleric}}, or sent to the top of the tower to receive judgment from the Absolute.