We did indeed have free run of the camp, other than the cave which was full of gnolls which were being punished for unruly behaviour and the big tent at the end. Along the way, we encountered the leaders of the two mercenary groups that Tazok name dropped earlier, Ardenor Crush and Taurgosz "Tenhammer" Khosann.
Ardenor Crush, leader of the demihuman mercenaries known as the Chill consisting of mostly hobgoblins, was a hobgoblin as one might expect. A little larger than most. He looked at us, unimpressed. "They certainly will accept anyone these days. Keep to your side of the camp if you wish to keep your heads. My hobgoblins might like the meat on you."
I had to come realise that expecting to impress these evil mercenaries with my stature wasn't a realistic expectation, so Jaheira was doing the talking.
Jaheira smirked. "Oh, that's not advisable at all I'm a little on the tough side, they might bust a tooth or two getting me down."
Ardenor raised an eyebrow and almost laughed. "Hmm! Perhaps they might at that. You best be careful with that wit around Tazok. Ogres are not known to appreciate the subtleties of half-elf humor."
Again, if we showed any of these leaders disrepsect and we could set of the WHOLE camp against us, so it was important for Jaheira to pick the EXACT CORRECT lines to say.
The party stopped just short outside the big tent at the sight that awaited us. Standing over 7 feet tall, encased in full plate mail, was a man with a black beard and a deadly hammer in one hand.
I couldn't help but gape. We've seen plenty of ogres that height, sure, but this guy's face was human. Was he really a human?
The man snickered at us, and introduced himself. "I am Taurgosz 'Tenhammer', leader of the Blacktalons. You are small and weak compared. Remember this. You cross Talons and I kill you. Not with hammer, with little finger. Slowly."
Back in the game, I would have said something like "You've my respect, but I'll not fear you." What I ended up saying instead was "Sir, yes sir!"
Jaheira looked back at me with a complicated expression on her face. I had kind of forgotten she was supposed to be doing the talking.
Tenhammer frowned. "Don't whimper when you speak! Blacktalons do not whimper!" He face-palmed, then commanded, "Ye stand up straight when Tazok get here and show no fear!"
I stood straight at attention and saluted. "Sir, yes sir!"
Sighing, he waved us away.
Fun fact: Taurgosz "Tenhammer" Khosann is actually a recurring character. As he says, he is the leader of the Black Talons, and he hails from Iriaebor to the west. In the literature, he's supposed to be wielding a two-handed hammer in one hand and wearing enchanted chain mail, but in Baldur's Gate he is using a one-handed Hammer+1 and full plate mail. You'd better believe that he is a big threat, arguably more so than the boss pack waiting for us in the big tent.
Having said that, Taurgosz may be impressive but his mercenaries are an even bigger threat overall due to their numbers and ranged attacks. These bandits in the bandit camp are MUCH more deadly than the easy-peasy ones in Peldvale and Larswood. Each and every one is a master (+++) in bows and have an unbelievably good THAC0 of 9! Their shots are super accurate and every shot WILL hurt!
---
Once we had our way around the camp, we convened in one of the empty tents to discuss all the info we had gathered. "So the leaders of both the Chill and the Black Talon are here, together with some of their best troops. Tazok's personal documents are the big tent, but it is well guarded and off limits. Unfortunately, the big tent is our target."
"We could just try to infiltrate the main tent under our current guise," Jaheira suggested. "It's worth a try. Fighting all the enemies here seems like an unnecessary risk."
"If we do get into a conflict in the big tent however, which is the most likely scenario, we would find our escape route back out cut off from the enemies we left behind. We'd be pincer-ed from both inside and outside the tent," I argued. "I'd say it's safer to clear the enemies outside first."
In the game, one could take out the enemies inside the big tent and the bandits outside would be none the wiser. However, I wasn't so sure that would work when doing this in person. Besides, I wanted the loot Ardenor and Taurgosz had to drop.
"Can we though? There are certainly a lot of bandits outside," Neera said.
I looked to Branwen, who shook her head.
"Tempus commends bravery, not idiocy," Branwen said. "Even I have to admit that some amount of strategy is a necessity of battle."
"Oh, we can do some amount of strategy," I said with a big grin.
---
After some preparations, we reconvened outside, nearby Taurgosz 'Tenhammer'. "Sir! We have magic to show you sir!" I said, saluting him.
Taurgosz looked at me in surprise. "Really? Uh, okay…"
Jaheira started incanting, then after a few second Branwen did as well. Jaheria finished first, and cast Doom on Taurgosz. Just as he realized he had been tricked, Branwen cast Chant. It was then I used Algernon's Cloak on Taurgosz.
Taurgosz paused mid-swing at Khalid and blinked at me. His face changed to… fascination. "Awwwww, aren't you just the cutest widdle-"
I stepped away from Taurgosz's oncoming hands aimed at my cheeks and pointed at the oncoming bandit archers. "Bad guys incoming! They want to hurt me! Help!"
Taurgosz took one look at them, and sneered. "Hah. They be finding out why I be called 'Tenhammer'."
---
75% was pretty good odds to gain an overpowered meat shield. Although, in spite of his boast, Taurgosz could not withstand actually all the arrow fire of the bandits in the camp. So while he led the charge, we had to fight alongside him, throwing out Sleep spells and the like to support him. The traps we had placed all around the camp helped thin the ranks, thankfully.
By the time we were done, Taurgosz was so badly beaten up that putting him out of his misery was as simple as a Magic Missile spell.
I really wish we had access to Protection from Normal Missiles at this point, but unfortunately that spell wasn't available yet. If we had access to a sorcerer (like Baeloth Barrityl), the bandit camp would be a cinch.
What about Adrenor? Eh, we hardly noticed the leader of the Chill but confirmed his body was among the hobgoblins we killed. Apparently we had pelted him with volley fire while Taugosz was battering hobgoblins and bandits left and right earlier.
---
We took a moment to make use of some of our newly looted gear. Taurgosz's full plate mail went to Jaheira, while his enchanted hammer and Jaheira's Ankheg plate went to Branwen. Now, only the big tent and whatever awaited us inside was left.
---
A party of four of Tazok's elite enforcers awaited in the big tent. Raemon, the leader, was a fighter with high master (++++) weapon proficiency in both long swords and longbow and stocks Ice Arrows. He was unusually close to the front lines for a poorly armored fighter, so he wasn't a large threat to the team, at least not for long. Britik was a gnoll who was reasonable in melee combat, hitting with his halberd with a good THAC0 of 10 with 1d10+3 damage but only APR1. The bigger threat was Venkt, the mage who inexplicably had more HP than the warriors in his party, and Hakt, the hobgoblin archer in the back who was armed with Arrows of Biting (which poisons). Venkt had a very good save vs spell of 8, like Ekandor, so he would save vs Silence on a roll of 13 (8+5) or above, 40%. Still worth a try, but we should have a backup plan against him. Hakt was the other priority with his THAC0 9 poisoned arrows.
---
Raemon eyes narrowed when a group of mercenaries entered the big tent. He drew his longsword, being too close to bring his bow to bear, and told them, "I don't care who you are, no one's to enter Tazok's tent, under penalty of death."
The half-elven woman at the front of the group held out a hand. "We're here under Tazok's instructions. He requested that we retrieve his files and documents and deliver them to him as soon as possible."
Raemon smirked. He had been specifically warned by Tazok that a group of mercenaries led by Sonny the halfling would be coming, and no one was allowed to enter the tent. Under penalty of death, as it were. "Your petty lies are wasted on me. Like Ender Sai here, you've crossed the Iron Throne for the last-" Raemon said, then stopped short. "Wait, where is Sonny-"
"Here."
There was a terrible crack in the back. Raemon turned just in time to see Hakt fall to the ground, a wee halfling standing behind him wielding a bloodied quarterstaff.
All hell broke lose. The pink-haired archer in the back let loose an arrow at Venkt, their mage and most powerful member in the group, before he could even cast a spell. The arrow struck true, but was not a critical injury.
Even as Britik and Raemon engaged the enemies with halberd and longsword, Venkt laughed. "Should have waited for me to start casting!" And he started incanting Mirror Image to protect himself.
A spasm of pain ran into Venkt's fingers, ruining his spell. Venkt balked. Poison! The arrow was poisoned, like Hakt's! I'll never get a spell of like this!
Meanwhile, the pink-haired mage in the front had finished a quick spell of her own, Sleep. Brikit fell over unconscious. Effectively, it was now Raemon vs the party of six. The brown-blonde priest's Silence spell also completed as well. Venkt resisted the spell, but it would do him no good with the poison in his system.
The halfling pointed at Raemon with quarterstaff on his shoulder. "…" he said, then gave Raemon a thumbs down. "…"
Apparently, the halfling had gotten caught by the Silence spell.
The two pink-haired women in the enemy party snorted with laughter. The halfling pouted then twirled a bullet in his sling right into Raemon's face.
---
Between the two Arrows of Biting, courtesy of Ulcaster dungeon, and the Silence spell, we had significantly improved our odds of disabling the enemy mage. Thankfully Imoen only needed to use one Arrow of Biting, so we still had another to annoy mages with. I should probably buy more when I can once they become available for purchase.
Sleep could affect everyone except Venkt who was level 6, but didn't have very good odds to do so. Still, we only had to roll lucky once to take out a major threat.
Not a particularly difficult battle, honestly. Using the Arrows of Biting wasn't strictly necessary, but I liked taking out threats effectively.
---
The prisoner in the back was gagged and blindfolded. This must be the Ender Sai that Raemon mentioned. We removed his gag and blindfold.
"Is it time for my execution?" he asked us.
We looked at each other, puzzled. Then we stood aside and gestured to his fallen captors. And then we undid his bonds.
Ender Sai blushed in embarrassment. "Ah. Apparently not. Thank you for the save."
"What's your story, then?" I asked, in spite of knowing it.
"Captured by bandits, as you can see. 'Why' I was captured is the correct question," Ender Sai replied, smiling in spite of how roughed up his face was. "Or perhaps, more pressingly, 'who' wanted me captured."
"Was it the Iron Throne?" I asked. "Raemon name dropped them earlier."
Ender Sai frowned a little, at the loss of his dramatic reveal moment I presume. "Yes, very astute. Both mercenary bands, the Chill and the Blacktalons, think they're getting orders from the Zhents. But they're not."
Jaheira glanced at Khalid, her eyes narrowed. She asked Ender Sai, "How can you be so sure?"
Ender Sai let out a low chuckle. "A desire for silence isn't the only reason I wear soft-soled boots. I wear 'em so I can tell whose toes I'm treading on. I didn't mess with no Zhentarim. I picked my enemies and I messed with one group and one group only- the Iron Throne. And, right as rain, here I am as Tazok's personal prisoner. You do the math."
"Who's the Iron Throne exactly?" Imoen asked, cocking her head to the side. "Certainly not as famous as the Harpers or Zhentarim."
Ender Sai massaged his unbound wrists. "They're not an organization like that. Just merchants. Yes, I know how it sounds. The Iron Throne primarily deal with the sale of arms."
"You're saying arms dealers are responsible for the iron crisis?" Neera asked, frowning a moment. Just a moment. Then her frown lifted and her mouth opened. "Aaaaaaah. I get it. Because they want to sell arms, and cutting the supply of iron will drive up the demand for their arms."
That's right, Baldur's Gate 1's primary antagonist was driven by capitalism and the whole story was a commentary on the military-industrial complex. Yay for politics in games.
Branwen's brows were still furrowed. "How would arms traders sell arms without iron? They're not exempt from the iron crisis they have engineered, are they?"
Imoen slapped her hand on thigh and pointed at me. "The mine! Tazok said he was going to a mine in Cloakwood! They have their own mine!"
I pointed back and grinned. "There it is!"
Ender Sai looked at us with a raised eyebrow. "No wonder I was rescued in short order. Your group seems pretty quick on the uptake," he said, then pointed at the chest in the back. "There are some documents in that chest that might be worth taking a look at, too."
---
There were in fact two letters in the trapped chest, which Imoen disarmed. Both were written to Tazok the ogre from a certain Davaeorn. The first letter were orders from Davaeron and Tazok's SUPERIORS (which meant Davaeron and Tazok weren't the leaders at the top); to hire an assassin, Nimbul, who Davaeorn thought should be able to take out the small band of mercenaries that could cause trouble for the Iron Throne.
Eh, why did Davaeorn put so much hope in that poser? Nimbul was killed by the most useless companion in the game. So far, I'm not impressed.
The second letter was a request to step up iron shipments from bandit raids to the base in Cloakwood before 'an ultimatum is given'. Honestly, I couldn't remember what ultimatum he was talking about. The second half of the letter was more interesting: "Also, Sarevok wants to know what has happened with the band of mercenaries. Have they been killed? You better ensure that they have been, as Sarevok will not take kindly to any other news."
Jaheira frowned. "I'm getting all the assassins we have encountered and details confused. Davaeorn's superiors wanted us band of mercenaries dead? So is this Sarevok fellow that superior? More importantly, are the people who want us group of mercenaries dealt with for causing trouble for the Iron Throne the same people who want Sonny dead personally?"
We tried to compare all the different bounty notices we had so far. The letter from Tazok to Nimbul was the most illuminating:
"Nimbul,
The money you have received from Tranzig should cover your usual fee. Your assignment is a difficult one, but I'm sure that you are up to the task. There is a group of mercenaries who should be coming through Nashkel in the next few days. They are led by a whelp named Sonny. You are to kill Sonny, and all that travel with him. I warn you; they might not look like much, but they are very dangerous. Good hunting!
Tazok"
"Holy mackerel," Neera exclaimed. "They have it out for YOU specifically, Sonny! We're just the side dish!"
Ender Sai, who was peeking over her shoulder, nodded in appreciation. "And I thought I was their biggest threat," he said, grinning. "Any idea why?"
I did know why, but I shook my head. "Assassins were sent to kill me while I was a nobody in Candlekeep. Hardly had any opportunities to step on their toes then."
"It doesn't add up," Imoen said with a frown. "Why target Sonny all the way back when he had nothing to do with this mess? Sure, he's super annoying, but even I think this is going too far."
I shot pink irritation #1 a glare, which only elicited giggles from her.