Your destiny is within reach. All that remains is your confrontation with Balthazar and overcoming the fifth and final challenge, before you'll be able to face your final enemy and your fate.

Balthazar

As you leave Abizagal's lair, you'll encounter Elminster, who will give you some straightforward advice concerning how to get into Balthazar's fortress. When you arrive at Amkethran, all the mercenaries will be after you, so stay off the main avenues and away from the mercenary camp, where they'll constantly appear, or cast mass invisibility or invisibility 10-foot radius to avoid battles altogether. Go to Saemon Havarian in the smuggler's cave, and he'll give you two options for getting into Balthazar's fortress. Either come with him in disguise or go through the graveyard with the key you can get from a visitor.

If you elect to go in disguise, Saemon Havarian will set you up, but give you a fighting chance by pitting you against two fighters (15,000 experience points each), a monk (23,000 experience points), and two mages (20,000 experience points each). All are very high level, so don't spare any firepower and try to get a fighter to take out the mages quickly (your own spellcasters must breach the protection from magic missiles cast and use true sight to avoid being deceived by mislead).

The other--and better--way into the fortress is by going through the graveyard after getting the key from Faheed and Majira, two NPCs who are in the house just west of Marlowe's house on top of the hill. Once you get the key, you can open the remaining door in the graveyard, and it'll lead you directly into Balthazar's lair, sparing you the fight outside the compound.

Once within Balthazar's fortress, you'll face a confrontation with him almost immediately. He has four companion monks, who aren't threatening, but Balthazar (280 hit points, fists act as +4 weapons, regenerates six hit points/second, +3 weapons or better to hit) is a deadly melee opponent. Balthazar has all kinds of crazy moves (solar stance: fireball explodes from his body and blows away enemies; lunar stance: adds twenty hit points, immune to time stop, level drain, disintegrate, and casts magic missile on nearest spell-caster; dragon fist strike: stun opponents unless save vs. paralyzation is made; tiger strike: knocks back opponents), which he often announces in advance, including the deadly quivering palm attack. He can also completely heal himself if you let him get a spare moment, so stay on top of him and use your greater whirlwind and critical strike abilities. For killing Balthazar, you'll get 40,000 experience points per party member, followed by another visit from the Solar, which will earn you 10,000 experience points per party member.

Mad monk. Balthazar and his monk friends can instantly kill your party members with quivering palm attacks, but all you have to do is take out Balthazar and his companions will scatter. Stay in close contact with Balthazar or you'll allow him to get his "second wind" and heal himself completely.

NPCs in this sector:

• Elminster
  
• Saemon Havarian