The Githyanki Warrior: Difference between revisions

Lae'zel is first encountered on the [[Nautiloid]] in the [[Prologue]], but she can only become a full companion in Act One. There are several places where Lae'zel can be found. She is trapped in a cage on the [[Ravaged Beach]] (X:224, Y:372). as part of {{Quest|Free Lae'zel}}, if she survived the Nautiloid. If Lae'zel died on the Nautiloid, she shows up on the Ravaged Beach as a corpse, but can be revived, such as with a {{SmRarityItem|Scroll of Revivify}}. Lae'zel can also be encountered on [[Risen Road]], near the [[Mountain Pass]] as the party approaches the githyanki patrol.

Immediately upon recruiting Lae'zel, she insists upon going to the nearest crèche. She refers to the process as purification and states that the [[Zaith'isk]] is a sacred device that can cure the infected of their tadpoles. If Free Lae'zel was completed, then the tieflings that captured her refer to an individual named {{CharLink|Zorru}} as having encountered a Githyanki patrol. Zorru can be found in the [[Druid Grove]], guarding the storage barn in [[The Hollow]]. With Lae'zel in the party, he admits that he encountered the Githyanki near the Mountain Pass on Risen Road.

Arriving on the western end of the Risen Road, the party encounters {{CharLink|Voss|Kith'rak Voss}} and a squadron of Githyanki. Voss asks if the party has seen a polyhedric artefact with the sacred runes of the Githyanki on it. If the party reveals that they have the artefact in question or that they are infected with tadpoles, the Githyanki attack. Otherwise, Voss flies off after instructing them to return to the creche to help with the search.

Once the party reaches the Mountain Pass and finds the githyanki patrol, Kith'rak Voss interrogates the party on the location of a stolen githyanki artefact. It is polyhedric in shape and inscribed with the sacred runes of the githyanki people. If {{CharLink|Shadowheart}} is in the party, she is clearly anxious as she's aware she carries the {{SmRarityItem|Mysterious Artefact}} he speaks of. After the patrol is dealt with, an event occurs during a Long Rest at camp. Lae'zel is arguing with Shadowheart about the theft of an object owned by her people. Lae'zel demands the artefact, but Shadowheart tells her to back off and be grateful they have the artefact to protect them. Lae'zel suggests they duel at sunrise to settle things.

During the night, the player wakes up to Shadowheart holding a knife to Lae'zel's neck. She says she'll tell the party Lae'zel was transforming, so she put her down. If nothing is done, Shadowheart slits Lae'zel's neck and smashes her parasite as it crawls out. The player can defend Lae'zel, causing Shadowheart to become hostile and have to be killed. Lastly, with a Persuasion check (DC 10), Shadowheart can stand down. In this case, Lae'zel and Shadowheart resolve their issues and agree not to fight again.

[[Creche Y'llek]] is in the basement of [[Rosymorn Monastery]]. Within the [[Creche Y'llek#Infirmary|Infirmary]] of Crèche Y'llek is {{CharLink|Stornugoss|Ghustil Stornugoss}}, who claims she can purify the party if they tell her they are infected. Unfortunately, through the process of 'purification,' it is revealed that the zaith'isk is not a device of healing. Instead, it is a device that extracts the memories of the infected and then kills them. Whoever steps in the zaith'isk must do saving throws to prevent permanent -2 debuffs to Wisdom, Intellect, and Constitution. However, this debuff can be cleared by consuming {{SmRarityItem|Mind Flayer Parasite Specimen|Tadpoles}}. The zaith'isk ultimately explodes and Lae'zel questions if the Ghustil is corrupted. She demands they report this to the captain, {{CharLink|Therezzyn|Kith'rak Therezzyn}}. If the party does this, then this ultimately leads them to speak to the Inquisitor in his chambers.

Enter the Captain's Chambers, where the Kith'rak of the crèche is arguing with an Inquisitor. The way forward is blocked by a shield generated by the Githyanki Barrier Disruptor {{coords|1390|-757}}. A Gith Shard is needed to open the way, which is on the person of Kith'rak Therezzyn. Steal it, or fight the Kith'rak to gain the shard. Inquisitor {{CharLink|W'wargaz|Ch'r'ai W'wargaz}} recognizes the party and tells them to enter, opening the way. Alternatively, if the Kith'rak is shown the artefact, she locks the party in and demands they go to the Inquisitor immediately.

Once the party enters the Inquisitor's Chambers, Ch'r'ai bids the party to talk to him. If they don't, he slowly becomes impatient until he becomes hostile. If he's spoken to, he reveals he is very familiar with their movements. If the party raided the Druid Grove in {{Quest|Raid the Grove}}, he says "I heard enough druids died by your hand to make the deity Silvanus himself weep." If the party defeated the goblins in {{Quest|Defeat the Goblins}}, he says "I heard there is so much goblin blood on your hands that it soaks their children's nightmares." The githyanki became interested in the party when they became involved with the Absolute's movements.

The Inquisitor demands the artefact. The player can ask questions or attempt to hand over the artefact, which leads to {{CharLink|Vlaakith}} appearing through the Planecaster. Otherwise, if the player refuses, Ch'r'ai becomes hostile, along with the other githyanki in the room. He's joined in combat by Ardent {{CharLink|Jhe'rezath}}, Raider {{CharLink|Kyrr'a'ath}}, Warrior {{CharLink|Brelal'reth}}, and Ardent {{CharLink|Qu'th}}. After this, Vlaakith appears to confront the party and demands the death of the individual within the artefact, claiming they are corrupting the object, which is actually an {{SmRarityItem|Mysterious Artefact|Astral Prism}}.

Once inside the prism, the [[Dream Visitor]] speaks to the party and says they will only speak to the leader of the party. Enter, and the Dream Visitor explains that the power they use to protect the party was stolen from the githyanki. Additionally, the Visitor knows a secret that would threaten Vlaakith's empire - that she is a pretender who does not possess the same power that Mother Gith did. This is why she wants them dead. The Visitor kneels down and offers a blade to the player, stating that they can strike down the visitor if they believe it right. However, killing the Visitor was simply a test and they don't die if stabbed - instead mentioning that they are hurt by the betrayal.

After the visit, the player returns and explains what happens. Lae'zel demands to know what happened, and she can be told that the Visitor couldn't be killed if an attempt was made, or that Vlaakith has been hiding things from her people. The party must depart the Astral Plane and return to the mortal plane. If the Inquisitor was not already dealt with, then he attacks the party, as he had never intended for them to leave alive. After this, the entire crèche becomes hostile and the party can fight their way through, attempt to sneak out, or use the Secret Stairway from the {{Quest|Find the Blood of Lathander}} quest. The crèche itself becomes a hostile area, so fast travel is not possible.

Visiting Creche Y'llek causes Lae'zel to greatly question her loyalties once she is betrayed by the Inquisitor and labeled Hshar'lak. While she wants to believe that Vlaakith is testing her faith, she is once again swayed by a camp visitor - Kith'rak Voss. Voss arrives during a Long Rest once the party has returned from the Astral Prism. He begs Lae'zel to listen to him and, if she agrees, says that Vlaakith is a pretender and that the true Prince, {{CharLink|Orpheus}}, is the key to their race's future. He leaves while telling them to meet with him at [[Sharess' Caress]] in Baldur's Gate, starting {{Quest|Help Kith'rak Voss}}. If Lae'zel does not listen to Voss, he turns hostile, and the party learns that he was planning to meet a mysterious contact at Sharess' Caress.

An alternative path opens up by avoiding the confrontation with Vlaakith. The simplest way to do this is by avoiding the creche entirely. However, another option is to avoid the Inquisitor in his chambers and instead move to the western hallway. Here, there are two statues that open up the way to a secret stairway. If the party enters this stairway and makes it past the traps (documented in {{Quest|Find the Blood of Lathander}}), they can grab the legendary weapon, {{SmRarityItem|The Blood of Lathander}}. Choosing to do this without first using the Dawnmaster's Crest activates a Solar Machine that destroys the entire creche (and kills any party members who fail to escape in time). If the creche storyline was not fully resolved (either by destroying the creche or speaking to the inquisitor), then Lae'zel eventually confronts the party and says she intends to go back, unless an Intimidation check is passed (DC 6). Because Lae'zel has not been betrayed by Vlaakith, she happily obeys her queen. In Act Three, Vlaakith appears and tells Lae'zel she must kill the heretic prince Orpheus who dwells within the Astral Prism. If she does this, Lae'zel shall become Baht t'Vlaakith, the leader of her army.

Lae'zel can be convinced to return to Vlaakith's fold, even if she has heard Voss out and was betrayed at the creche. This is through a 30DC Persuasion check once the party enters [[Rivington]]. Vlaakith appears in camp and urges Lae'zel to betray Voss, claiming he's a liar. Choose "Kneel, Lae'zel. To be the god-queen's Chosen is an extraordinary honour." Lae'zel once again becomes a faithful servant of Vlaakith's.  

If Lae'zel was not betrayed by Vlaakith, then Voss does not appear in camp and, as such, is at neither Sharess' Caress nor the sewers. Instead, Vlaakith merely orders Lae'zel to kill Orpheus and Lae'zel is utterly unaware of Voss' betrayal. However, if Lae'zel turned on Voss, then she demands the party hunt him down as an enemy of Vlaakith. This can be done either in Sharess' Caress or in the sewers.

Regardless of who Lae'zel allies with, she needs to free Orpheus to either save him or slay him. To do this, she needs a special weapon, the {{SmRarityItem|Orphic Hammer}}, in order to break his bonds. Luckily, the devil {{CharLink|Raphael}} owns such a hammer. In exchange for the hammer, Raphael wants the party to turn over the {{IconLink|size=20|Crown of Karsus Faded.png|Crown of Karsus}} after the Elder Brain has been defeated. The party can choose to do this as part of {{Quest|Deal with the Devil}}. If the party regrets their choice, they can {{Quest|Escape the Deal}} by breaking into Raphael's [[House of Hope]] and stealing the contract. The party can also break into the House of Hope to steal the hammer, if they chose not to make the deal. If the party has allied with Voss, they can show him the hammer to gain the {{SmRarityItem|Silver Sword of the Astral Plane}}. After the hammer is obtained, the party must wait for a chance to return to the Astral Prism.

If Lae'zel allies with Orpheus and is brought to the Astral Prism, a DC30 Persuasion check must be passed to assimilate Orpheus without her becoming hostile. Otherwise, Lae'zel turns on the party and must be killed. Otherwise, the party must refuse the Emperor and free Orpheus. Without an illithid, however, someone must choose to transform - either a party member or Orpheus himself. Lae'zel can become distressed at Orpheus if he decides to become an illithid, but she does not become hostile on this matter.