Part Two Chapter 2

This article is part of a collection for the walkthrough for Part Two. The previous article is Chapter 1. The next article is Chapter 3.

City of Dwarves, Hall external — The Dwarven hall

This part of the story begins as The Princess steps into the Abandoned Mine, north of Westwood. The party explores the mines and finds the hidden City of Dwarves. The Dwarves will grant passage through their tunnels, if the party agrees to help with a Dragon problem.

Notes

A Rod of Resurrection is required to complete this part of the journey.
During the journey, the Princess can initiate a romance with Bran, Vico or Anden and break the romance with Pia. The focal point for the romantic changes is the Inn in the City of Dwarves. Initiation of romance with Bran also requires some foundation building during the journey.
If the Princess hasn't (successfully) started Bran's romance, Bran and Norah will leave.
If Vico is unhappy with the Princess' leadership or confronted by the Princess and Bran, he will leave the party.

Walkthrough[]

WARNING
Spoilers follow.

Abandoned Mine[]

After you've made it out of Westwood, you'll need to make your way through the Abandoned Mine. The mine is old and has a number of caved-in areas, which will require explosives to pass.

Unlock the door to the left of the entrance, then use the levers (#2) to unlock sections A, B, and C of the mine (although section A is unpassable due to a cave-in). Return to the main area, then destroy the sign and open the door leading into the mine.

Follow the main path to the west, then south at the fork. Continue south along the main path, then turn left (east) at the fork. If you don't already have explosives from the broken-down wagon east of the Westwood farmland, turn down the first path on the right (south) and you'll find the Shot Firer's corpse (#4). Search his body and take the key to the room on the upper level of the barracks outside the mine where the explosives are stored. Further east is section C (#3) of the mine. Open the large doors and proceed through. You'll encounter and battle a Mutant Spider. After killing the spider, search the body of a dead Drow Priestess at the back of the cave and take the key. The spider has an Armor of Lloth, which will trigger some fun conversations when first put on. Now return to the main path. If you need to pickup some explosives from the barracks, now is the time.

Continue west along the main path of the mine and clear the way with explosives. Take the first right to the west and into section B (#5). You should come across a glowing blood-stained door (#7) that can only be unlocked with the key found on the body of the dead Drow priestess. Unlock the door and head down to the Tunnels below the Black Mountains (#8).

Tunnels below the Black Mountains[]

After making your way through the Abandoned Mine (#1) and reaching the Tunnels below the Black Mountains, you'll sit down for a picnic with your party.

If you're trying to romance Bran, this is one of the key conversations. If he tells you about his past and his reasons for to coming to Westwood, you are on the right path. Following the picnic, head through the door into the tunnels.

There will be a fork in the road, with the path to the right obstructed by boulders (#2) and a door leading to the lower level (#3). Don't clear out the boulders to the right just yet, instead open the door and head down to the lower level. As you make your way through the corridor, you'll get the feeling that someone is watching you. Open the door and speak with Screek (#8). He may seem unimportant, but if you don't speak with him, Sziths won't be found in the forest of the Black Mountains. This will make sense shortly. Take a look around, rest at his camp if you need to, then head back up (#7). Clear the main path with explosives (#2), then snake your way through. Anden should stop you when you get close to the dead Formian. A long path lies ahead, but there's a locked door at the end (#6). Your only choice is to explore the Formian camp (#4). Either sneak around or fight your way through, although the latter option will be quite challenging. You'll come upon an area where you'll need to clear the way with some more explosives.

On the other side of a small doorway is the body of Murin Rumnator (#5). Use a Rod of Resurrection, then speak with him. He'll thank you for your help and lead you to the City of Dwarves.

City of Dwarves[]

Head to the Hall and speak with their Loremaster. The Loremaster will consider your request for help, but you'll have to spend the night in the Inn for now. As you make your way to the Inn, you'll notice the game does an auto-save, because relationships tend to change considerably at the Inn. After entering, Vico will want to speak with you upstairs. Follow him up, proceed through the dialog, select your path carefully, then return downstairs. If Bran and Norah are in your party and you're not trying to romance Bran or are not on the right path for his romance, they will leave to complete their own quest. Once finished at the Inn, return to the hall and speak with the loremaster. They'll offer to let you through their tunnels, but only if you help them with Sziths, a red dragon who's been causing problems. This triggers the Dragon Hunter quest.

You can exit the mines through the way you came or through the closer exit in the City. If you exit through the City, you'll end up near the broken-down wagon east of Westwood. Make your way to the Westwood Farmland and the west again. If you exit through the main mine entrance, you'll be back at the Black Mountains. Go to south through the Westwood Farmland, then follow the road west.

Continue west until you find the Inn, of the What's Wrong at the Inn? quest, then head north to the Black Mountains: Forest.

Pia[]

If you're in a relationship with Pia, you have to be careful at the Inn, because she'll try to break it off after your conversation with Vico. To stay with her, you have to somewhat forcefully convey that she's being silly and that you love her.

The relationship with Pia will end if you agree to have sex with Vico (still you can do the solo demonstration only, and still keep Pia).

Bran[]

The possibility of Bran's romance actually starts back in Westwood, when he and Norah first join your party. The Princess must not be in a relationship (with Pia), should be respectful and deal with people's problems in an honorable way, also avoiding Vico's advances through the mines. If she has done all this, Bran is beginning to fall for her. He should follow the Princess upstairs at the Inn and will side with her against Vico. This may be the beginning of their relationship, and Bran will put his own quest in second place to stay and protect her in case Vico comes back, like he threatens to do, even if he and the Princess don’t progress as a couple.

If all goes well, Bran & Norah will stay with you past the Inn. If they don't hang around, you've done something wrong. The relationship with Bran really starts to pick up after his rescue at Rilynett Mansion, in the Underdark. Until then, keep an eye open for the resting areas on the way, as in the cave of the Black Mountains, where there can be interaction between him and the princess.

If Bran dies in the fight with Vico at the inn, after resurrection he will think himself unworthy of the princess for he couldn't protect her, thus ruining their chance for romance.

Note: This would be the first time someone actually took the Princess’ side to protest against the sexual violence episode she suffered at the beginning of the story, for until now no one had taken up the cudgels for her, even at the family, since Master Nathan was kind of lenient about it.

More information is available on Bran's romance on the FAQ.

Vico[]

The Dwarven Inn is the pivotal place where the Princess will decide what will become of her relationship with Vico (if they have one). There are three possible results for her attitude towards him from the beginning of part two up to this point. There are many different dialogue options, and basically two final results concerning Vico, by the end of the game, which will reflect what happened here.

Vico doesn't need much encouragement to leave at the Inn, if you've given him the cold shoulder from the boat on. He'll disagree about her leadership ways and want to go off on his own, leaving the party for good, not before threatening her. If the princess was friendly and/or teasing since the beginning of part two, he will assume she wants him as well, then try to seduce her at the Inn (in his own peculiar way of seducing, of course). Also replying to most conversations in Vico's favor throughout the journey, yet not avoiding romance with other characters may result in Vico's interest, though he will be unsure of her feelings, and won't admit to his own. The princess may try and seduce him herself at this point, with a solo demonstration of her skills. She could do so also just for the pleasure of dismissing him afterwards. She can dismiss him on any of these options, by the way.

In case you won't keep Vico in your party, it's advisable to strip him of any given equipment before entering the Inn.

It's also possible to increase your Sexy Skill here, though it will be of no more use on the game.

If Vico is not in your party when you enter the inn (because you didn't rescue him from the Dhorn prison, for instance) then the conversation will not begin, and Norah and Bran will remain in the party.

Black Mountains: Forest[]

After speaking with the Dwarves and accepting their request to slay the troublesome red dragon, head to the forest in the Black Mountains. There's a small party of Orcs nearby, so be prepared for a quick fight. Continue into the forest and clear the way with some explosives.

As you walk into the open area, Sziths should snatch you away from your party. If not, you you likely forgot to speak with Screek in the lower level of the Abandoned Mine, just before the Formian camp. Sziths will drop you off on the peaks of the Black Mountains.

Black Mountains: Peaks[]

Speak with Sziths and rest in-between conversations. He'll mention your Dhorn friends at one point and then not return. Look around for a trap door and make your way into Sziths' Lair.

Black Mountains: Sziths' Lair[]

Sziths' Lair consists of 4 levels. Make your way through level 1 and down the stairs. If you'd like to punish Screek for his role in your abduction, keep an eye out for him on level 2. A small room can be found on the far side of the level, which has a desk and a chest with a few items. Make your way past the Earth Elementals and down the stairs. Sziths' treasure is on level 3. There is a large amount of gold and a number of pieces of armor with a fire resistance. As you near the large stone statue on the 4th level, Sziths and a number of Dhorn commandos will enter the room. You can sneak over to the Fire Breather (#2) and wait there while the sequence plays out. Sziths will send one of his followers to get you from the peaks of the mountain and they'll have a conversation about you while they wait. The servant will eventually return and report that you've gone missing, but you don't have to wait for him.

At this point you can pull a lever on the fire breathing device (#2) found near Sziths in the main chamber, and a fire storm will fall on Dhorn. They will think Sziths has betrayed them and will attack him. If you're lucky, the Dhorn will take care of Sziths for you. Grab his head before you exit. If the Dhorn lose, search their bodies for the Belts of Bravery and sneak past Sziths. You may also leave in search of your party outside of the mountains (not too far), to return later and slay the dragon together. Exit level 4 through the breach (#3) and into the cave in the Black Mountains.

Black Mountains: Caves[]

Make your way through the lower cave, keeping an eye out for a Dire Bear and some bats. When you exit the cave, your party will greet you. Speak with them and regroup. If the Dhorn failed to take care of Sziths, head back into the cave and Sziths' Lair and kill him, then take his head. Now that you have Sziths head, return to the Dwarven city in the Abandoned Mine. If you go through the breach (#3), make your way across the Westwood Farmland, and into the cave that leads to the City of Dwarves. If you exit through the stairs down (#4), you'll find yourself in Screek's lair and can return to the Abandoned Mine through the Tunnels below the Black Mountains and the hidden door to the City.

Return to the Black Mountains[]

Return to the City of Dwarves[]

With Sziths dead and his head in your inventory, go speak with the Dwarves in the hall at the City of Dwarves.

On the way back, you will pass again by a couple of dwarves guarding a trapped door. They say there's a beast inside that was captured on the caves (a Slaad). This will be the last time you pass here, and if you don't mind some evil deeds, you could kill the two guards and enter to slay the beast. This can be a bit tough, notice that Gemli will stand by his dwarven fellows, so it would be one less on your party and one more to fight against. If you take too long, two other dwarves who were guarding the exit of the caverns might come to their aid. In the end, if Vico is was the party, he will be very pleased with the Princess' idea.

It is also possible to kill the Slaad without gaining evil alignment or losing Gemli. The guards will turn hostile when you destroy the warning sign that is blocking the entrance - however, if you can successfully hide or escape from them without attacking (easy to do if you have the hide in plain sight feat), Gemli will not turn hostile and you will be able to sneak back through the door, kill the Slaad, and get its loot.

Tip: If you choose to force your way into the cave, the rewards are some pretty nice magic items that you’ll loot from the beast, among them the Chainmail of Doom, very useful to quickly finish large groups of enemies you may face in the future, such as kobolds and skeletons. It will be more effective if you equip it along with some fire-resistant gear (that you just found at Sziths’ lair) on you and your henchmen, since it casts Fireball at every enemy hit. Stripping Gemli of his armor before this fight can help considerably. The dwarf also has a very useful shield you could put to good use.

At the City, the dwarven Loremaster will be genuinely surprised at your success, and hand over the key so you can continue through the mines. Head back to the picnic area and down the long hallway past the Formian camp. Unlock the door, then head down.

Return to the Tunnels below the Black Mountains[]

After using the Dwarven key to unlock the lower levels of the tunnels below (#6), you'll come across a small river that can only be crossed with the aid of a rope. If you don't have any, you can go back to the barracks outside the mines or use the "dm_spawnitem rope" debug mode command. Remove your armor, then use the rope to cross to the other side. It may take a few tries, but you and your party will eventually make it across.

Across the river is a doorway into the home of a gnome named Budo Bancend (#11). He's not too happy about the intrusion and urges you to continue through his back door. Upon opening the door, he'll attack you in concert with a Dru behind the door. Kill both, take any gear you need, then head through the door. There you will find a waterfall (#12).

The Waterfall[]

The waterfall is a turning point in the game. Once you head over the side, you can't turn back. You'll probably want to save here and retrieve all equipment you gave to Gemli, for he will no longer join you after this event. Speak with your party, then jump. When you regain consciousness, you'll find yourself deep in the Underdark and on to Chapter 3.