#i really freakin like florrick

[blackjackkent]

OK, once again, our first immediate priority is going to find Florrick, which means we're heading back to Wyrm's Rock fortress and staging a prison break. (Ravengard is also imprisoned but I think he's somewhere else and we still have to figure out where.)

While I'm trying not to get too sidetracked from our main objectives until we have Lae'zel back, I will take this opportunity to scour the entire Wyrm's Rock building so we don't have to come back here again later.

And in this case - my exploration immediately paid off. I found a hidden lever leading to a secret path near the door that took us to the audience chamber before, which led out to a back cliff area behind the fortress with a gorgeous view of the surrounding water.

Climbing down the cliff leads to this:

Perfect! \o/ We're coming, Florrick!

Going inside, Hector is able to smash through a stone wall (yay cloud giant strength potion) and get into a storeroom in the prison area proper. After breaking out of the storeroom from the inside... we're immediately confronted by a guard.

The two options are "lie" or "fight"; Hector is not a fan of either one, since he hates lying, but he would hate killing a guard who was literally only doing his job more. So he claims (scrambling for an explanation and trying not to look as panicked as he feels) that they're officially sanctioned prison inspectors, and astonishingly (even to the narrator), the guard bought it. Presumably Gortash has been cracking down and changing things up and no one is interested in accidentally questioning his orders.

So we appear to be free to walk around safely for now (at least, presumably, until we start busting down the door of Florrick's cell).

Also this happened:

The theft in question was A SINGLE WALNUT that I picked up off the floor without permission. I reloaded; Hector doesn't have time for this nonsense.

There's one door labeled "Prison Entrance Door" that I appear to be able to pick open without bothering anyone, and then a bunch of smaller iron doors that I'm not allowed to touch. The iron ones turned out to be what we needed, though, because a little bit of stealthing around the guards later and look who we found in one of the cells!

Victory.

"You might as well lock the cell. It's over."

She sounds so incredibly dejected, a far cry from the direct, decisive woman we saw in Waukeen's Rest and Last Light. Jaheira notices the difference too:

"Florrick? What have they done to you?"

But Florrick just smiles sadly. "I don't speak of myself, High Harper," she answers. "I speak of the city itself. We came too late. It's over."

"I don't understand," Hector says with a concerned frown. "What do you mean?"

"I came seeking allies to our cause," Florrick says flatly. "Watchers spotted me, dragged me to Ulder Ravengard's husk." Her head twitches, as if struck with sudden pain. "Empty as a stare. A tadpole's puppet, nothing more. He spoke in accusations. Apostasy, conspiracy, sedition." Her lip curls in a bitter smile. "I will soon be hanged on the city gallows to a chorus of cheers. You might have unlocked my cell, but there's no escape from this place."

"The Fist can go hang *themselves*," Jaheira snaps. "We're getting you out."

(I continue to love Jaheira a lot.)

"Ravengard's not lost," Hector adds firmly. "I felt him reach out to me."

This is true - Hector doesn't lie unless forced to it, as above - but it is perhaps a slight shading of the truth. Ravengard is pretty far gone. Hector has no idea if they'll be able to find him again. But he is not lost entirely.

Florrick for a moment looks as if she wants to dismiss him out of hand; the despair has taken a deep hold on her. But... she is a woman of considerable strength of character, and Hector can see the information work on her, the way she takes it in, processes it. The lift of her eyebrows, the flash of hope back into her expression.

"You... you felt him?" she asks unsteadily. "Extraordinary. Maybe... what is lost can be found."

Her shoulders square, her back straightens. The effect is contagious; her force of personality is such that Hector can feel his own strength rising in answer to it. "'When the people need a miracle, you cannot wait for the gods to answer.' Ulder's words..." she murmurs thoughtfully. "I'd almost forgotten." Her jaw works and her eyes flick around the cell with rapid thought.

"No more sulking," she says with a sudden sharp nod. "I know what to do." Her eyes fix on Hector's - more confident now, authoritative. "Lead me from my cell. Escort me out of Wyrm's Rock. I'll seek out my connections. When the city's streets shatter, you'll want their blades."

Hector nods respectfully. He has strongly approved of everything he's seen of Counselor Florrick since the moment they pulled her out of the flames in Waukeen's Rest, and this moment of strength growing out of despair is doing nothing to change his opinion. She will be a valuable ally in the fight to come - and even on a more personal level, he wants her to live.

"Follow me," he says.