Intrigue with Jarlaxle

There's a One-day time limit in this quest.  Failure to obey the time limit nullifies the Gilded Rope's ability to deactivate the tower wards.

Intrigue with Jarlaxle is a side quest available in chapter 5.

Aquisition[]

In Ust Natha, after the meeting with Matron Mother Ardulace Despana, a solitary mage figure named Visaj appears on the path just north of Deirex's Tower. He initiates dialogue when the party is close by and proposes to sell a Gilded Rope for 1,000 .

Visaj explains that the rope has been stolen from Jarlaxle, and it has an enticing use - ".. with it, you would be immune to Deirex's power and could loot the mage tower as you pleased! Consider the possibilities!".

If Viconia DeVir is a party member she has in interjection in Visaj's lines of dialogue saying "I know of this drow. An infamous mercenary, leader of the Bregan D'aerthe,,, a powerful rogue known throughout the Underdark."

if you don't have that much gold, he'll sell just it for 750 . If the PC's charisma is 15 or higher, the party can talk him down to 500  - or threaten him and take the rope from him for free.

The party can turn down Visaj's offer as well, and not obtain the rope. If so, then he remains at this spot and can be contacted later if the party changes its mind.

If the party obtains the rope, Visaj will walk away and disappear off the map afterwards. If the party is planning to attack him, see his article page for more on this subject.

With the rope in your possession, it just remains for the party to decide to undertake the foray into the lich's tower. If Visaj's explanation of the rope's powers are true, then it will provide immunity to the lich's power and allow the opportunity to access any treasures within. What red blooded adventurer could refuse?

Walkthrough[]

Jarlaxle's Assignment[]

The party can now move towards Deirex's Tower and enter it. Deirex the Lich is present within and engages your party immediately with a short dialogue and then via a cut scene, casting what appears to be an Imprisonment Spell. Fortunately, and surprisingly, you are instead teleported to Jarlaxle's pocket dimension conference room.

Jarlaxle will say:

"Ah! It worked. I wasn't sure it would... these things have a way of never working out exactly as you plan. Thinking on the fly is an occupational hazard."

It is apparent that Jaraxle knows who the bhaalspawn is, and the drow illusion is not sufficient to fool him. He continues his explanation of what is going on (with interjections from Visaj) and will answer some questions. The party learns that gems are required to be taken from the lich, as these contain the trapped souls of his men. He says:

"Whether you kill the lich or not is up to you. Killing him would allow you to loot the tower, I suppose, but however you get those gems is of no concern to me."

He proposes that the party get moving on the gem recovery ASAP, saying:

" I just want to make sure that you find those gems in a timely manner. Hmmm... how long would you say would be fair, Visaj? An hour?"

In the end, after Visaj replies, he gives you one day to accomplish this task.

Note: If the party refuses to do the task within the time limits, then eventually when the party does attempt to enter the mage's tower, a text message displays "The rope no longer seems to deactivate the wards. It looks as though Jarlaxle has tired of waiting for you." This will shutter the rest of quest for good, including getting into House Jae'llat.

Deirex has apparently trapped the souls of some of Jarlaxle's men in those gems. Whether you agree or not, he teleports you back to Ust Natha. It is up to you if you enter the lich's Tower to take on Jarlaxle's "request". See the Deirex article page for his statistics and capabilities.

Enter the Tower and you'll soon have to fight with Deirex, who is capable of casting Time Stop, Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting and puts up a potentially stiff resistance (22,000 XP). Be sure to search his body for the Lich's Tooth and the Jae'llat Wardstone. Also search this place for treasures (some of which are trapped), including:

Taking Deirex's Gems will instantly teleport you back to the pocket dimension. So, ensure you take these gems last, or you will potentially miss out on the other valuables. Once again in the pocket plane headquarters within Jarlaxle's House, he takes the Gems and the Gilded Rope.

He also reveals that the gems aren't actually trapping the souls of his men, and the mission you "volunteered" to do for him was really just a grand scheme to rob and steal some valuable treasure. You can accept his thanks or vow revenge and other emotional responses - regardless. the party receives (10,000 XP) for their daring mission, and 2,500 .

In any case, you will be teleported back to the Ust Natha pathway outside the tower. Thus ends the side quest.

Inside Deirex's Tower[]

If the party is in possession of the Lich's Tooth, then it is now possible to bypass the wards to another doorway of Deirex's Tower into the Deirex's Cave area. Enter and find the lich's other treasures (x 3475 y 2730), within a pool of water, including:

House Jae'llat[]

With the Jae'llat Wardstone in your possession, you may now bypass the magical wards against intrusion and enter House Jae'llat, the wardstone will open two warded doors and allow you entrance (x 3260, y 1460). Using the wardstone to enter the house is an optional action, and the player can refrain from entering the area at all if they desire.

If entry to the house is undertaken, then of course this will lead to a fairly large battle against many drow warriors and spell casters, including a mage and at least two priestesses (each worth (6,000 XP) - it just wouldn't be a drow House without those elements, and this is only the first battle, there is another one when moving to the lower platforms, which involves Hindra Jae'llat (14,000 XP) and Ist'tar Jae'llat (16,000 XP). If you succeed in taking down the occupants, search the place for treasure, detailed on the House Jae'llat page.

Gallery[]

Bugs[]

If you return to Ust Natha after taking the dragon eggs from the temple of Lolth, Jarlaxle will still refer to you by your pseudonym. Retrieving Deirex's Gems will teleport you back to the pocket dimension into a tower — from which Jarlaxle will disappear soon after, leaving you unable to escape. Unfortunately, the game files will allow this to happen. Best to finish this questline before taking the Dragon Eggs to ensure no continuity problems.

Intrigue with Jarlaxle

Contents

Aquisition[]

Walkthrough[]

Jarlaxle's Assignment[]

Inside Deirex's Tower[]

House Jae'llat[]

Gallery[]

Bugs[]

Mod gallery[]

People involved[]

Sources & references[]

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