#oh wait the steel foundry + iron throne

[dollfat]

tivian and tydra just started act 3 and have not found a single bottle of pink and black dye the whole time 😭

[blackjackkent]

It occurs to me that after punching so many Steel Watchers into small pieces, Hector's knuckles must hurt like all nine of the Hells.

Anyway, let's finish this place and get the hell out of here.

"The Neurocitor. I can hear its hum - familiar, yet painful. I helped design the Steel Watchers, toiled night and day on the first bipedal prototype. It is fitting it ends this way. I will bring down not only the Steel Watch but the very Foundry itself. This place will be smoke and rubble when I am finished. Are you ready, my friend?"

Why do I get the concerning impression that you are about to go down with the ship, Toobin?

(Gods, Hector looks tired.)

"What are you going to do?"

"Like the Foundry, the Neurocitor's exterior is near impossible to penetrate. However, its inner circuitry is highly unstable. I'm going to rain fire upon it - from the inside out."

This is not doing anything to assuage my concerns but I don't really seem to have the option to stop you at this point.

"Do it."

"Gond - let your hammer be my courage, your furnace my heart."

-----

Astonishingly, he actually wasn't sacrificing himself, and we got a very fun little sequence of everyone booking it out of the facility before it exploded.

And, of course, guess who's waiting for us outside. >:(

"That was a hell of a show, my friend. Watchers collapse in the street as we speak. And the Foundry? Well, it won't stain this beautiful city with its abominations - not anymore."

Oh, man, Wulbren, Hector is SO not in the mood to deal with you right now. Go away.

"But it's not over. So long as a single parasitic Gondian remains, Baldur's Gate is under threat."

"Wulbren. Enough. The Gondians are no more. I am all that is left. You've won. Take the city - let the Ironhands reign supreme. I just wish to go home and mourn my daughter in peace."

(A/N: This quest is definitely a bit confused about itself at times. Most of what Toobin just said is incorrect - there are at least two Gondians still alive from the Foundry besides him, not to mention all but two of the hostages from the Iron Throne - one of whom is his daughter that he claims to want to go and mourn. I suspect this line will be the target of a humorous patch note at some point in the future.

The main point of course remains the same, which is that the Gondians have suffered terribly and Wulbren is being an enormous turd.)

"Toobin is right," Hector says wearily. "It's over." There is just the slightest hint of muted threat in his voice. This has been a long physically taxing and emotionally draining day and he is more than ready for it to be over. He doesn't want to be Wulbren's enemy, but he is pretty sure he's also no longer Wulbren's friend, and if the Ironhands try to push this issue Hector is fully ready to throw them over the horizon.

Wulbren laughs coldly. "Please. If a Gondian told me the sky was blue, I'd look outside and check. Toobin will lie, torment, and scheme until his dying breath. Kill him - or the Ironhands will."

(A/N: Hector kept making this incredibly sad-puppy face through this whole scene, which is definitely a face he has made in a lot of other circumstances, but is actually not appropriate for this one. He's tired, and he's MAD - at Gortash who is not within immediate reach, and at Wulbren who is the nearest available target.

We have the option for a [CLERIC OF SELUNE][PERSUASION] check here but I think this is one of the few scenarios in which Hector doesn't want to take it. There's another, much harsher line that is much more in line with his mental state right now given how shaken up and upset he is at the moment.)

Hector is silent for a long moment, then lifts his head and meets Wulbren's eyes with a steady, hollow stare. No more. I can't stop all the cruelty in this city, but I can stop you, right now.

[ROGUE][INTIMIDATION] "I know a hundred ways to kill you, Wulbren," he says. His tone is flat and hard, like an unbreakable wall. "So I'm only going to say this once." He takes one step forward in the gnome's direction. "Walk. Away."

Wulbren's head snaps back and his eyes narrow to slits.

"I thought you a rebel in arms," he hisses. "I see now you were but a snake waiting for its moment to strike."

He turns a sneering gaze across each member of the group in turn, and then spits on the road between them. "Keep your blind Gondian," he growls. "I have no use for broken things. But know that I will not rest until this city is rid of the Gondians and their bootlickers. When the day comes, my hammer will find your skulls and crack them wide open. Ironhands - move out!"

------

Karlach knows Hector very well by this point and she has seen him reach his breaking point a couple times. She can see the signs of it now, and as Wulbren turns to walk away, she darts forward and throws both arms around Hector's torso from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. She feels the tense of his muscles in her grip and knows she guessed right - he was about to leap forward, to lash out.

"Easy, soldier," she mutters. "He's not worth it. Let him go."

For a moment she thinks he is going to try and struggle away from her, but he hesitates, then sags a little in her embrace, his weight sinking back against her chest. "Bigoted bastard..." he mutters. "Does he not see the suffering these people have endured? Does he not care?"

"Don't think he does," Karlach says grimly. "Too caught up in his own anger. Wish I could say I don't know what that's like, but I guess I'd be lying. But that doesn't make it right."

He nods slightly. "Gods, what a day. What a bloody day..."

"Lets go home, soldier," she says quietly. "Let's just go home. We did it. The Watchers are done. We can go after Gortash now, come morning. We did what we had to do."

"It doesn't bring Toobin's people back," he says hollowly. "It doesn't bring that little girl back..." A long pause. "So many years I lived in that cloister and never realized how much cruelty there is in the world. How much anger..."

She hesitates, then presses a cautious kiss to the back of his neck. He shivers, closes his eyes and turns in her embrace to rest his face into her shoulder.

She just holds him a little while before speaking again. "I was stuck too, the last ten years, you know. Not able to do much good for anyone. Maybe we would have done more, if we were here before, but we weren't. We're here now, and we're doing a hell of a lot. Don't you fucking lose sight of that, Hec. Not for a moment."

He draws a slow breath and lets it out heavily. "Thanks," he says quietly. "Let's just... let's just go. I need to put this place behind us."

[breelandwalker]

All right. I guess it's time. Kind of picturing the whole party meeting around a table in camp and my tiefling dishing out the orders.

First, we take the submersible to the Iron Throne. The Gondians' families are being held hostage there. We free them first, take away Gortash's leverage. I need a strike team. This is a rescue mission in tight quarters - we need speed, healing, and ranged magical defenses. Shadowheart, Gale, Astarion, you're with me. When we get back, we're hitting the Steel Watch Foundry. Wyll, take Karlach and find out everything you can about the place. Layout, watch schedules, defenses, you name it. No detail is too small. Jaheira, Minsc, Halsin - same thing at Wyrm's Rock. The minute we set foot in the Iron Throne, it's likely that Gortash will know. We need eyes on the palace. And if necessary, a little chaos thrown into the mix couldn't hurt. Strike team, we leave in an hour, prepare what you need. -aside- Wyll....there's a chance we'll find your father down there. And I swear I'll do everything I can to see that he's brought back safe. If we don't come back, you and Jaheira take over and finish it. Wake the dragon, free Orpheus, call on our allies, and raze Wyrm's Rock to the ground if you have to. But do not let the Absolute win.

Home girl is finally stepping into her role.

So the Iron Throne took me three tries. Hard to figure out the timing and it IS a limited time mission. Every single action counts. We ended up splitting the party three ways to get Duke Ravengard and Omeluum and all the hostages out. It was CLOSE, but thanks to a whole lot of Haste and Speed, we did it.

After a little break to restock potions and plan a strategy, it was time to go get our gith. (I wasn't about to wait until the very end to tackle Orin, and fortunately there's a check that allows this.) That was another hard fight. Two, in fact, since we went to the tribunal first and discovered a very nasty Big Bad (no spoilers for this bit, cause it's a big reveal). Let's just say I'm glad I brought my Himbo Squad - Astarion, Minsc, and Halsin really tore up that room.

Then it was down to the Temple of Bhaal to confront Orin. And if I thought that bitch was creepy in her regular form....yeesh. Unfortunately for her ass, druids can pull that trick too. How ya like the myrmidons, Stabby McStabface? Not too much! Oh how sad. Byeeee.

So once everyone was refreshed and ready, it was time to hit the Steel Watch. Two tieflings, a half-elf, and a githyanki walk into a foundry.... -bangs on table- GIRLS NIGHT, GIRLS NIGHT, GIRLS NIGHT.

Also. SO PROUD of my little buddy Barcus. Way to find your courage, my dude.

Right. Three down. Three to go. And I swear, we are ALL going to live through this, so help me....

Tfw you're nearing the end of Act II in your BG3 run and you realize you've fallen into the exact trap you said you were going to avoid FROM THE BEGINNING.

The devs knew exactly what they were doing, didn't they.