Okay, so folks were asking me how I actually found Balthazar. Wasn’t exactly straightforward, let me tell you. Took a bit of poking around.
Starting the Search
First off, I knew I had to find this guy. The trail pointed pretty strongly towards the Gauntlet of Shar. Seemed like the only logical place he’d be holed up, given the circumstances. So, that’s where I headed. Packed my gear, told my companions to stick close, and went in.
Into the Gauntlet
Man, that place is gloomy. Dark corridors, weird shadow magic, the whole deal. Right away, I started tackling those trials Shar throws at you. You know the ones:
- The one where you fight shadow versions of yourself. That was annoying.
- The leap of faith path. Almost fell off a dozen times.
- That library puzzle with the silence. Had to be real sneaky there.
Did all that stuff, cleared out some undead creatures milling about. Found a few notes here and there, scraps of lore, but nothing shouting “Balthazar is right here!”. I kept thinking, maybe I missed a hidden door? Checked the map constantly, backtracked a few times. Still nothing. Felt like I was just running in circles for a bit.
Getting Closer
After getting through the main trials, things started opening up a bit more. Dealt with that Orthon dude, Yurgir, which was a whole other fight. Clearing that area seemed important. Then I noticed that central device, the one that takes you deeper down. Seemed like the only path forward, really. So, I hopped on and went down.
Found Him!
The vibe totally changed down there. Less temple, more creepy lab. Lots of bones, weird fleshy bits in corners. Gross stuff. Then I saw it – a sealed door, looked important. Wasn’t just gonna walk through. I remember fiddling with the lock, maybe I picked it? Or found a key nearby? Honestly, things were getting a bit hectic then. Might have involved disabling some kind of ward too.
Anyway, got the door open. And there he was. Standing in this big chamber, surrounded by his… projects. Definitely Balthazar. No mistaking him. Had that whole arrogant necromancer look down pat.
So yeah, that’s the gist of it. Deep inside the Gauntlet of Shar, past the trials, down the lift, through a locked door into his private little laboratory of horrors. Took a while, involved a lot of fighting and scratching my head at puzzles, but got there eventually. Wasn’t exactly hiding in plain sight, that one.
