| “ | I'm an officer of the Flaming Fist. You've got to get me out of here![1] | ” |
The Fist Restrained is a quest in Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear, available in the Ducal Palace during Chapter Seven. The quest name may change to The False Fist in its later stages.
A Flaming Fist Officer trapped behind a locked door in the palace basement may be more than he appears.
Walkthrough[]
If in the Korlasz Family Tomb you chose to arrest Korlasz rather than kill her, it's likely that upon your first visit to the palace basement, she will break out of her cell and you will be forced to fight her again, this time to the death. Your dialogue with the Flaming Fist Enforcer after the battle can provide an important clue for this quest: if you ask whether Korlasz was acting alone, he will tell you that the only other cell is occupied by a doppelganger.
When you approach the northernmost door in the basement of the Ducal Palace, a voice will call out to you from behind it. The person on the other side claims to be an officer of the Flaming Fist who was trapped there by a doppelganger who stole his face, and begs to be released.
- If you didn't ask the specific question mentioned above, or did ask it and have an intelligence of less than 6, you will only be able to say his fellow Flaming Fist didn't mention one of their own trapped down here, and he'll offer an excuse. Otherwise with 6 intelligence or more, you'll be able to point out they told you a doppleganger was in the cell, and realizing his cover is blown, he will try to negotiate with you for his release by promising a reward as outlined further below.
- If you did not arrest Korlasz, none of this line of questioning will be available to you, and you will only be able to discuss finding a way out for the imprisoned "officer." If you ask for a reward he will promise you 150 gold for his release, but will later claim to be in too much of a hurry to pay you.
The Cell Key is in the nearby desk to the southwest, or you may pick the lock or bash it open by targeting the door with an attack. Whatever method you choose, when you open the door for the "officer" you will be able to question him again. He tells you his name is Idianeali and that he stumbled upon a mage in Sarevok's service who tricked him into the cell.
- With an intelligence greater than 6 and an earlier discussion with the guards that did NOT reveal the doppelganger, you can ask why they didn't mention it earlier. He will claim it happened before they arrived and try to leave to talk to his commander. At this point you can tell him it should be ok to speak to you as you're the hero of Baldur's Gate, which will make him immediately turn hostile to you and try to kill you.
- With intelligence greater than 8 and a conversation with the guards that did reveal the doppelganger, you can mention they told you about a doppelganger and he will turn hostile and try to kill you.
- Again, if you did not arrest Korlasz, there will be few options other than the "officer" attempting to leave.
Speaking to him again before he can leave allows you to question him further.
- Asking for his name again, he will tell you it's Idianori. With greater than 12 intelligence, you will be able to point out that earlier he told you it was Idianeali, which will cause him to attack you. Other responses along this line simply end the conversation.
- With greater than 12 wisdom, you can call him Idianeelix and ask what happened again, and he won't remember that this wasn't the name he gave you. You may then point this out, and he will attack you.
If you speak to him one more time after this, he will be so sick of being questioned that he will reveal himself as a doppelganger and attack.
The Doppelganger Revealed[]
Most paths lead to combat with the doppelganger. When he is near death, he will call for mercy and offer a reward in exchange for his life. Alternatively, you can have this discussion without a fight if you had learned the truth and let him know about it before opening his cell.
He will promise a veritable fortune beneath the Iron Throne building if you meet him there. With less than 9 intelligence you can humorously ask him what "veritable" means. You now have the choice of letting him go, locking him back in his cell, or killing him.
If you let him go, travel to the basement of the Iron Throne building. The doppelganger will be waiting for you in the northern corner, and will give you the items he promised. Before he is able to leave, you can interrupt him one more time for a little more dialogue about himself, or one more opportunity to kill him.
Rewards[]
- If the doppelganger is left in the cell, allowed to leave before revealed, or killed, there is no reward (700 XP for killing him).
- If you meet the doppelganger in the Iron Throne basement, he will give you three random potions, an unidentified random wand with 5 charges, and 250
. If you kill him there, he will drop these items and additionally a pair of Stalker Gauntlets, and you will earn 700 XP for killing him.
Trivia[]
- By asking the right questions, the doppelganger will initially promise that his cache contains over a thousand gold and a couple of high quality swords as well as potions. There are several references to the cache as "weapons and valuables" but the actual reward is only 250 gold and includes no weapons, and the player is given no opportunity to express dissatisfaction at being lied to. It seems plausible that the reward was scaled back during development and this dialogue was never revisited and adjusted.
- With the Spectacles of Spectacle equipped, an alternate dialogue option is offered when approaching the cell door: when asked if someone is out there, the player can say "Oh, yeah. I'm farther out there than you can imagine, man."[2]
- In one dialogue path, the doppelganger will tell you to meet him in the basement of the Iron Throne building in 3 hours, but there is no time limit for meeting him there.
- One of the false names used in this quest is Idianeelix, which is likely a reference to the character Neelix from the television series Star Trek: Voyager.