48. Northwest Sector of Baldur's Gate

• A huge brawl will break out in the Helm and Cloak with Gretek's (70 hp, level nine fighter) gang of maulers - Caturak (34 hp, level six), Nadar (25 hp, level seven), Pargus (32 hp, level five), Arlin (21 hp, level seven), and Wilf (40 hp, level seven). If you've gained the confidence of Gorpel Hind and his merry fools you'll have his gang's assistance for the fight. It's one of the toughest fights you'll face in the game, as the maulers have good position and powerful weapons and spells. Use animated undead or summoned creatures to draw off some of the maulers' attacks, and take out the spell-casters, who tend to hang out in the corners of the room, before their spells can disrupt your party. A nice web or grease spell can freeze the bulk of the maulers, and will keep the innocent patrons safe. The maulers are equipped with arrows of ice, arrows of fire, battle axe +2: Battleaxe of Mauletar, long sword +1, and an adventurer's robe.
  

  Map of sector 48. You can pick up Skie in this sector if you already have Eldoth in your party.

• Quinn, in a locked house on the same block as the Helm and Cloak, is mourning the loss of his friend Nester, who was apparently killed by an ankheg. You can get Nester's dagger in the bridge sector leading to Baldur's Gate, just north of the water witch's house. There's also a long bow +1, oil of fiery burning and a scroll of horror in Quinn's house.

• Louise and Laerla, two twins, complain about being stalked by a bogeyman, and Gervisse will inform you that a polymorphed druid, Voltine, is to blame. There's splint mail +1 on a book shelf in the twins' bedroom. Gervisse is evil, and killing him will net you 900 xp and a wand of polymorphing from Voltine, and if you talk to Laerta after killing Gervisse they'll inform you that the bogeyman is gone and will give you 1,000 xp and a scroll of protection from evil.
  

• Pheirkas will ask you to steal a cloak from Algernon in the Feldepost Inn in Beregost, without killing Algernon. The reward is puny, a mere 300 xp and 200 gold. You might want to keep the cloak for yourself instead, since it adds two charisma points to the wearer, or you could try to pickpocket it back from Pheirkas. If he turns hostile, you'll get 420 xp for killing him. Outside Pheirkas' house, in a barrel, is a color spray scroll, and in a house further west there is a protection scroll.
  

• The large locked house in the west portion of this sector contains some powerful enemies: doom guards, helmed horrors, and invisible stalkers. If you manage to take out the guardians, you'll be confronted by Degrodel, who will commission you to retrieve the Helm of Balduran. If you decide to attack Degrodel or not accept his quest, he'll summon a few additional troops. Degrodel wears a robe of electrical resistance, and the locked cabinet in his room contains splint mail +1. The quest will take you to the middle sector of Baldur's Gate, into Felonius Gist's mansion, where five statues are present. The middle statue is the only one that will tell you anything of value, and by turning that statue to flesh using the scroll given to you by Degrodel, you'll learn that the Helm of Balduran is hidden in the Helm and Cloak, back in the northwest sector of Baldur's Gate. If you are particularly law abiding, you can pay Felonius Gist 300 gold for the privilege of examining his statues, but if you just ignore him and do the task quickly you're unlikely to be interrupted by the guards. The helm is upstairs in the Helm and Cloak (in the upstairs area accessed past the bar), in the north wall in a hidden compartment that is guarded by a fireball trap. You can go straight to the helm if you'd like, bypassing the statues altogether. Returning the helm to Degrodel will bring you 5,000 gold, and another fight with some of his guards. You're far better off keeping the helm for yourself. The helm's companion, the Cloak of Balduran, is held by a prostitute in the Undercellar.
  

• In chapter seven, Candy, a courtesan, will tell you more about Scar's fate if you ask her.