Beregost, Chapter One, continued

• Garrick will try to hire you to act as Silke's bodyguard. If you attack Faltis, Glayde, and Tessilan on her behalf, your reputation will go down a couple of points. Refusing to attack the three men will initiate a battle with Silke, and, after defeating her, Faltis will give you a potion of defense. Silke (29 hp, level eleven mage) is very dangerous, but alone, so ensure that you constantly hit her to disrupt her spells. Garrick will join you.
  

• Upon entering the Red Sheaf Inn, another assassin, Karlat (30 hp, level five fighter), will attack you. Karlat's a tough customer, so don't hesitate to use spells to help take him down or put him out of the fight, like entangle. Also in the Red Sheaf Inn is Perdue, who will ask you to get his sword back from some gnolls, but only if you don't offer to buy him a replacement.
  

  Map of Beregost. There's plenty to do in Beregost and lots of quests to initiate. Make sure you go to the Thunderhammer Smithy in the NE corner of town.

• Zhurlong, who hangs out in the Burning Wizard, will steal from you every time to talk to him, but if you complete his quest you'll get all of your money back (tempting as it might be to try the more immediate solution of throwing a sword into his gizzard). You may be better off keeping the boots, which are boots of stealth. If you're really vicious, return the boots for the reward and then either pickpocket them back or kill Zhurlong after he turns hostile.
  

• Firebead Elvenhair, who is in a private house in the same southeast block as the Jovial Juggler Inn, will pay you for retrieving a copy of the book The History of the Fateful Coin. You can steal a copy of that book in the house south of Firebead, or buy it from the Feldepost Inn. Firebead Elvenhair is wearing a traveler's robe.
  

• Marl (36 hp, level four) will confront you in the Feldepost Inn, and will fight you unless you choose the right conversation path: Tell him that "you go where you want," and that "you do what you think is right, solving more trouble than you cause." Indicate that you "won't be held accountable for what the fates deal," and ask him if his son "wouldn't have gone anyway." Finally, buy a round to toast to Marl's son's memory, and you'll be rewarded with 900 xp.
  

• There's a nice stash of gems in the locked house south of the Feldepost Inn, a potion of agility in one of the houses on the east side of town, and a potion of heroism in one of the houses near the Jovial Juggler Inn.
  

• The bartender in the Feldepost Inn will purchase bandit scalps from your party, but you're better off waiting until chapter three to sell them to officer Val in the Jovial Juggler Inn. Spen Gil'meh in the Burning Wizard will give you a hint on an easier way into the Firewine Bridge dungeon.
  

• Kagain, an evil dwarf fighter, runs a shop north of the Feldepost Inn, and he'll join your party if you promise to help him find a missing caravan. The caravan quest is a red herring, as it can't be solved (at least not in the initial release of the game), but Kagain will agree to stay with you anyway.
  

• Tons of magic items are available for sale in the Thunderhammer Smithy during the day. In the evening, you can help yourself to a magic bastard sword +1 that is locked in a chest in the back of the smithy. No one will be around in the evening.
  

• The huge spiders in Landrin's basement are tough, especially if you don't have any way of slowing or curing poison (put the antidotes given to you by Landrin in the belts of your characters for easy access). Don't be anxious about taking out the huge spiders out your first visit through Beregost, but if you can't wait, use your entangle spell (somewhat ironically) to keep them at a distance so that you can pick them off without risking being poisoned by them in hand-to-hand combat. Make sure you pick up the body (only one can be grabbed) and Landrin's wine and husband's boots.
  

• Bjornin and Gurke, both in the Jovial Juggler Inn, will give you quests as described in the chart above. You won't be able to solve Gurke's quest until chapter four in the game. Miranne, in a house at the east side of town, will also give you a quest. The smithy Taerom Fuirum will buy ankheg shells for 500 gold each (make sure you only have one on you each time you talk to him, or he'll take them all for 500), or he'll make them into ankheg platemail for 4,000 gold, but after he makes the armor for you he won't purchase any more ankheg heads. Ankheg heads will rot after ten days if they are not sold.