1. The village

This is a two-parts village (west & east), where you can find some opportunities to fulfill small quests and to fight a few foes in order to test your new PC, and maybe one of the two henchmen that you can get there.

The few foes you can fight are some kobolds (near Drogan's home, in his barn and in the old farm). The village guards and dogs have already done a good job concerning the fleeing kobolds, and they can help you in case you cannot harm yet the few you'll find.

2. Drogan's house

Taking on a henchman

Now have a look at the possible henchmen to help you: Xanos or Dorna. Though taking one is not an obligation, do not forget that they won't take anything from you - not even XPs, and that they might give you good advice, which is a novelty with SoU. You also can get rid of them anytime. A very good novelty too is that you now have access to your henchman's inventory. Through it you'll be able to better equip him/her and you can change his/her weapons range anytime by changing them in the usual slots. One last point: you can share your load with him/her!

Mischa is not a possible henchman as she is supposed to defend Drogan's house. If your PC is not a warrior, you'll have nevertheless to manage with a sorcerer/barbarian or a rogue/cleric - but don't doubt, they are anyway far more sturdy as you are, even for a level 1! You can at once ask them questions about themselves. They won't be telling much, but it will give you a glimpse at their mood.

If you have not done so already, explore the first floor (the apprentices' quarters), or more precisely have a thought about the four footlockers, each one in a room, considering that you have already explored your own. You might find some useful items, or at least saleable items, though opening your comrades' footlockers will make you shift to chaotic for one point each time, except for your henchman's. Mind that Xanos' is trapped (slowing you for a while) and locked, that Dona's is locked too (both have got their key in their inventory if you need it), and don't overlook the mysterious locker (no evil point) which holds rags and the top of a toy.

You can now explore the main floor. Take a few things on the kobolds remains if you have killed some and try the kitchen crates which hold meat, fish, garlic and belladonne. You can also notice a devining pool in the same called room, where any quest item you might have lost will wait for you. As for Drogan's walking stick, it will give your PC an electric shock and you won't be able to pick it (I haven't tried a magician PC yet.) It is time then to get to Drogan's laboratory.

You cannot really enter the laboratory which is protected by a magic circle. But Drogan's familiar - a faery dragon named Riisi - is keeping an eye on his master's things and she/he (?) comes to you as soon as you try to enter the circle.

He is very upset by the kobolds tresspassing and he actually hid when they came in and used a magical powder on the circle. If you try to lie to him concerning his master's health, you'll get a point toward chaotic alignment. If you use menace toward him in order to get into the lab, you'll get the same, but also one point toward evil. Anyway, you'll have to give the proper answer to three riddles if you want him to bring you some of his master's treasure he has hidden in a safe place of his.

The first riddle is the following: How many nines do you use to count to one hundred?
The second one uses a well known anti-logic statement: a man who is suspected to be a liar should be drowned if he is not and hanged if he is. He is asked how he must be executed (drop the other statements).
The last one is a matter of combination: there are four different fruit trees and a certain number of pickers, each one being allowed to pick two different kinds of fruit, never the same combination. Each tree should only have one picker in common. How many pickers are they?
Though I like to give complete guides to games, I shall not give those riddles answers at once, I am sure that you can manage. (Save the game if need be!)

When you have given the three good answers to the riddles , Riisi will give you Drogan's room key, three Focus Crystals and another small thing like a scroll.

Drogan's room and private quarters

With the proper key, you can now enter Drogan's room. Take a look at the chests in it and go to his private laboratory. Note that you'll never be able to open the chest with the colored light.

There you will find potions of healing and healer's kits inside the medical supplies chest, plus a few interesting items inside the miscellaneous supply chest (quartz crystal, empty bottle, gargoyle skull, slaad's tongue, etc.). Do not forget the two racks where you will find whatever weapon or ammunition you need to equip you PC, plus some you can sell later. But the most interesting "containers" are certainly the grinder and Drogan's crystal table. At the moment, the grinder is only what you see, but it might become even more useful later.

To create a new Focus Crystal, you must have in your inventory a quartz crystal, plus two other crystals among the following: phenalope, aventurine, fluospar, amethyst.

You can either put the three adequate crystals inside the grinder and wait, or interrogate Drogan's Crytal table with the same items in your inventory. The result will be found inside the grinder.

When you have found the Alchemist Cooking Book, you'll also know how to create a useful item with a few ingredients. As for any Easter Egg, see here .

If you have not done so already, inquire about Drogan's heath after Ayala. She will tell you that she needs three ingredients to make a remedy for Drogan. Those ingredients are a tressym tongue, some charcoal, some helmthorn berries. You should find them at the village herborist's. Outside we go now!

When you bring her back the three ingredients, Ayala will reward you with 300XP and Drogan's health will get from "badly injuried" to "barely injured" though you still will not be able to talk to him.

3. Drogan's barn

From the tracks before this barn, you can guess that some kobolds might still be inside, which is right. Mind the one(s) which could stand on top of the slope at the back of the barn, as you cannot see it at once.

There is nothing to collect here, though the XPs you'll get by killing those kobolds can help your PC leveling up..

4. The Smith

Fiona the smith likes jokes, but she is a good woman. You can trade with her (and maybe sell her a few extra weapons...), but you probably won't be able yet to buy valuable items from her. Don't forget that the new Appraise skill can help you get better prices.

When you have freed her half brother, she'll be only "half happy" with his return!

If you have kept Shadow Hart horns, Fiona will be able to create the Shadow Helm for 1000GP.

5. The herbalist

Farghan and his winter wolf companion have helped the village getting rid of some kobolds, and he can tell you that most kobolds have run down by the town's gate. He will give you only two of the ingredients you need for Drogan's remedy (tressym tongue and charcoal), you must ask Mara at the Bubbling Cauldron to get the berries. He can sell you druid's equipment, but also a couple of aventurines, amethysts or fluorspars if you need any.

6. The Bubbling Cauldron Tavern

When you step in, you realize in a glance that something wrong is happening in here. Ask for details by Lodar, the Tavernmaster, and he will explain to you that Mara the cook is held as a hostage by a bunch of kobolds barricaded in the kitchen. If you take this quest, you'll have to talk to the kobold named Hurc through the barricade.

You aim is to deliver Mara, whichever way you choose to do so. I tried a few:
- You can use menace, asking them to surrender now and they will be allowed to leave. The kobolds will get out of the kitchen, freeing Mara, and you'll have to choose whether you keep your promise (+7 points toward lawful but only 100XP reward for the quest) or kill them with the help of the tavern custommers.
- You can persuade Hurc to make an exchange of hostages: you against Mara. This will give you 3 points toward good, but you'll have to manage, being alone in the kitchen now (your henchman will be left behind). There are five kobolds, which can be a bit difficult for a fight. But you can lie to them, saying that you will help them to escape, in which case you'll have a little time between the moment the barricade blows up and the fight begins. Be careful then, for the custommers will be taken by surprise, and several might die in the fight.
- If you choose the kobolds side, you'll have to fight all the custommers (and get a shift toward chaotic and evil).

Freeing Mara will give you 200XP, plus 50GP from Lodar if no custommer has been killed (or 3 alignements points toward good if you don't take the gold).

You can now ask Mara for the berries, which you'll find in a cookpot in the kitchen. You'll also find fish in a barrel and empty bottles, garlic and belladonna in a crate. If you have killed Hurc, don't forget to collect a dagger (vampiric regeneration) on his remains. If you now have the three ingredients, you can bring them back to Ayala and get your reward. Else, go at once to the herborist.

7. The Community Hall

This place full of commoners is home to three different activities: a small temple dedicated to Illmater with Gilford as a tired cleric (he can only trade with you but not heal you), the town Guards Quarters in a back room, and of course the mayor's place with a few wounded people. Be careful with the guards' stuff, you'll get points toward chaotic if you unlock their chests (but you also can find a few potions in them).

The mayor Veraunt Shuttlescomb is a frighten old man and he is presently drunk! The kobolds assault was too much for him and Haniah Dales at his side is trying to manage, but she has trouble to manage everything. If you are willing to help, there is a trouble maker called Piper who sees himself as a prophet and a convert to an unknown frightening deity. He prophetized two days ago that death would strike in Hilltop and people are beginning to believe him. You are asked to make him go if possible.

When you have fulfilled Piper quest without killing him, you'll get 200XP and Haniah will reward you 60GP.

8. Piper

Piper can be found outside, near the south-east gate which leads to the other part of the village. Some people are listening to him and he is playing a prophet of doom, threatening his listeners: follow him or you'll die.

If you kill him, you'll get 5 point toward evil and you'll create a new problem for Haniah as people will be muttering. The only way seems to persuade him (you can try as many times as you wish, though some commoners might follow him after some unsucceeding tries) that he is needed in some other places like Silvermoon or Neverwinter. If you persuade him again that he has no need of money to travel, considering his call, he'll leave for nothing. Else it will cost you 10GP, but he will leave. You can now get back to Haniah to get your reward.

9. Houses (and Thay Mart)

Toman Bross's door in locked, but you can unlock it and get inside. He cowered while the kobolds were in town, but he has something to say: a Red Wizard came into town. The mayor was about to throw him out of town, and the kobolds attacked right before this wizard got an audience with the mayor. Toman can also tell you that there is a halflings caravan down the road.
When you have succeeded in helping Szaren create his enclave, you'll find a new store in this house. Szaren will sell you all kind of magic items and his slave will tell you that he is much happier here than in Thay. But... Toman Bross will be outside, complaining that he lost his house!

Depending of the items you have, Szaren can also propose to buy the Dragon Egg (700GP or Szaren Cloak), the Mask (1000 or1200GP is you are persuasive), the Dragon Tooth (500/700GP) and the Mummified Hand (1000GP). Actually, if you are to sell any of them and you could not help Szaren open his shop, you might want to check the Hermit offers for these too.

Mind the other two houses, they are empty, but unlocking their door will get you points toward chaotic.

10. Traders caravan

Furtera and Birgen are brothers, but only the last can talk to you. They were attacked by the kobolds and Torias chased after them. Katriana leads this caravan and she presently is tending to her wounded mates. If you let her know that you are Drogan's apprentice, she'll explain that she sometimes carries off his messages. She'll also inform you that the kobolds robbed them of their fortune teller - Daschmaya - 's cards.
Torias can tell you that unlike the ones who fled Hilltop by the gate, the kobolds who robbed them ran north to an old farm.

When you return to Katriana with the fortune cards, she'll give you the key to Daschmaya's.

The fortune teller can fortell nothing untill you give her back her cards. Whatever you choose after this, you'll be granted 200XP. If you really want some money from her as a reward, you'll have to ask it twice and you'll get 150GP. Else you can listen to what she has to tell you , as you'll get some information about your main quest, though it will of course never be enough for you!

If you give her the cards back "free", you'll get a shift of 3 point toward good, and the telling as well.
If you menace her, well, it's up to you!

11. Szaren

Standing near the city door, this man is the Red Wizard Toman Bross talked about. His mistress Lady Dmitra Flass, Tharchion of Eltabbar, has decided to end the strife within Thay and to stop wars between Thay and its neighbours. Her plan is to create enclaves inside the main towns of Faerun and to trade their famous magic items, which should change the Thayvians desastrous reputation. Hilltop has been chosen in the Silver Marches, but the mayor did not want to hear about it. Could you use your influence on him to allow Szaren to create this enclave?

You can test this wizard about the pratice of slavery in Thay, and ask him what he could bring, apart from trade. Then you can discuss the topic with Haniah at the Community Hall, and persuade her that the enclave would help defend the town with its guards, as Szaren promised. She'll agree and you'll get 200XP and 100GP when you give the news back to Szaren. After this he teleports back to Thay in order to get his goods, his slaves and his guards.

12. Nora Blake

When you get near Blake's house, Nora runs to you, looking for help. Kobolds are inside her house with her infant Tynan and her husband. The way you play this little quest might have consequences on your alignment!

When you enter the house, at least two kobolds are awaiting you. Nora's husband is definitely dead, you don't have to think long to know what to do. Pick up whatever you find on the kobolds remains - there must be a fluospar or an amethyst on them. You can now go upstairs, but maybe you should save your game before that.

In the baby's room, a kobold is ready to talk with you. He wants a "shining gem" against the baby. I am afraid that you have only two safe ways to get the baby back: giving him the "gem" (he will take at random an aventurine, an amethist, etc before fleeing through the window), or maybe use persuasion - though I could not succeed with this with the PC I am trying at the moment. If you try to snatch the baby from him, he'll probably kill the baby first, except if your henchman is fast enough (attack mode required). Which will also happen if you take the line of dialog "I'd rather kill you and take the baby". Having the baby killed will get its mother to run away in despair. Else you'll have it in your inventory and Nora will run to you as soon as you get outside. Giving her back her baby will get you 200XP, plus 2 points toward good.

There again you have several choices (I did not try all of them):
- if you try to lie to her, saying that her husband is inside and in a good health, she'll ran away with her baby and shout that YOU killed her husband and you'll shift 1 point toward evil and another one toward chaotic.
- after telling her that her husband is dead, you can give her 10GP; this will get you 3 points toward good.
- or 50GP, then you'll get 7 points toward good.
- or nothing and you'll get as much.

Facing Nora's house is another house which is empty. If you pick up the lock to enter it, you'll get 1 point toward chaotic, and only a small thing in a crate inside the house.

13. The Old Farm

The farm looks empty, apart from the tracks that lead downstairs. In the south-east room nevertheless, there is a mold covered crate which you must open with care: you need a good saving throw not get disease. Inside it, you can find green spores, a gold ring, a quartz crystal and a potion. You can now follow the tracks and go downstairs.

A single kobold is awaiting you here behind a crate. When you step in the room, more kobolds will spring from both sides (maybe only two). Get rid of them and you'll be able to pick up the fortune cards on the first kobold remains and search the two crates.

Now, for Daschmaya's caravan to get your reward for bringing her cards back.

14. Leaving the village

Mind that you have reached level 2 before leaving the village - which should be all right if you have fulfilled most of the quests in town.