This guide will walk you through the Graveyard District of the city of Athkatla in Baldur’s Gate II. This area’s code in the game files is AR0800.
Map of the Graveyard District
1 – Tombs / Arenthis and Risa
The easternmost of these two tombs will start out locked. Inside, you’ll find a (locked) sarcophagus containing a Staff of Curing. If you’re playing the EE, then you might also notice a secret door leading… nowhere. Once you’ve recruited Hexxat from the Copper Coronet in the Slums District, this secret door will take you to Dragomir’s Tomb. Inside the westernmost of the two tombs, you’ll encounter a pair of skeleton warriors.
During the day (roughly between the hours of 6 and 10, and between the hours of 12 and 16), you’ll meet Dawnlord Arenthis and the orphan Risa in front of one of these tombs. They’re a part of Kamir’s quest (#9).
2 – Wellyn’s Grave
During the day, you’ll meet Wellyn’s parents (a pair of halfling mourners) here. They’ll tell you that Wellyn was murdered, and that he has not been able to find rest in the afterlife. At night, you’ll encounter Wellyn’s ghost nearby. He’ll tell you that he can’t sleep without his teddy bear Littleman, which was stolen by the thief who killed him. He’ll then ask you to retrieve the bear for him. To help you out, he’ll tell you that the thief is named Llynis, and that he can be found in one of the back rooms of the Copper Coronet in the Slums District.
When you confront Llynis, he’ll gladly give up Littleman the Stuffed Bear to stop Wellyn from haunting him. At this point, you can either kill Llynis (for 650 xp) or let him go. It won’t make any difference to the quest. When you deliver the bear to Wellyn, you’ll earn 15,500 xp. Then when you talk to his parents, you’ll earn an additional 5000 xp.
3 – Nevin / Uncle Lester
During the day, you’ll encounter Nevin and a Drunken Cleric of Talos here. When you approach them, Nevin will run up to you and ask you to protect him from his Uncle Lester, who has risen from his grave. When Lester appears, he’ll start berating Nevin for giving him a cheap funeral, including hiring the drunken cleric for the service. Meanwhile, Nevin will be upset that Lester only left him a sweater in his will. If you kill Lester and protect Nevin, then you’ll earn 7500 xp. If you let Lester kill Nevin, then you won’t earn anything.
4 – Tomb
Inside this tomb, you’ll find a (locked and trapped) sarcophagus containing a Battle Axe +2.
5 – Tomb / Stein
Inside this tomb, you’ll encounter a mummy and two shadow fiends. Outside the tomb, at night, you might run into a grave robber named Stein. If you take offense at his profession, or if you try to blackmail him, or if you have Anomen in your party, then the encounter will turn violent, and you’ll have to fight Stein plus two muggers. You’ll only earn 2000 xp for winning the battle, and the grave robbers won’t drop anything interesting when they die, so don’t worry if you can’t get Stein to spawn.
6 – De’Arnise Mausoleum
This mausoleum belongs to the de’Arnise family. You’ll need to visit it during Nalia’s companion quest.
7 – Tomb / Sethle
Just outside this tomb, you’ll meet Sethle the gravekeeper. He won’t have much to say to you unless you ask him about Tirdir (#8). Inside the tomb, you’ll encounter two mummies and a skeleton warrior.
8 – Fresh Grave / Tirdir
If you interact with the fresh grave here, then you’ll dig up a coffin, inside of which you’ll find Tirdir — still quite alive. This will earn you 6500 xp. If you ask Tirdir how he came to be in such a predicament, then he’ll tell you that he was kidnapped by three men, one of whom was wearing a bright red shirt. He’ll then give you the Piece of Red Cloth that he tore from the shirt, which will allow you to identify the kidnapper.
To learn more about the kidnappers, you’ll need to talk to Sethle the gravekeeper (#7). He’ll reluctantly admit to looking the other way when the kidnappers wanted to bury something, and he’ll reveal that the kidnapper with the red shirt hangs out in the Bridge District. Then Sethle will flee away from you, and you won’t see him again.
In the Bridge District, you’ll spot the kidnapper Am-Si in the southern part of the map. He’ll be staring out at the water, and he’ll be recognizable by his bright red clothing. When you talk to him, he’ll recognize that the jig is up, and he’ll rush into a nearby house (with an appropriately red-bordered door).
When you follow Am-Si into the house, Camitis and Reti. his co-conspirators, will get mad at him for screwing up their plan, and they’ll kill him and then flee outside. When you give chase, the kidnappers will quickly turn hostile and attack you. The battle shouldn’t be difficult. You’ll earn 4250 for your trouble, and you’ll find Boots of Avoidance: Senses of the Cat on Reti’s corpse.
Back inside the kidnappers’ house, you’ll meet their latest victim, Lady Elgea, on the upper floor. You’ll have three ways to deal with her:
You can free her right away. This will earn you 16,750 xp.
You can tell her that you haven’t made up your mind about what to do with her yet, and then free her later. This will earn you 8500 xp.
You can collect her ransom. In a cabinet near Elgea, you’ll find a Ransom Note. It will reveal that the kidnappers had already set up a meeting to receive Elgea’s ransom — outside the Copper Coronet in the Slums District at night. When you go there, you’ll meet Welther. He’ll give you the Silver Pantaloons as payment, but you’ll lose some Reputation during the transaction. That will conclude the quest, but if you want, you can return to the kidnappers’ house. You’ll find several Amnian soldiers and Cowled Enforcers waiting for you. They’ll attack you on sight, and you’ll earn 28,100 xp for defeating them. But you won’t lose any further Reputation.
Note: If Keldorn or Mazzy is in your party, then they won’t let you outright ransom Lady Elgea. Instead, you’ll have to tell Elgea that you haven’t made up your mind yet, and then ransom her.
Note: If you want to acquire the pantaloons without losing any Reputation, then you should tell Lady Elgea that you haven’t made up your mind yet, collect the Ransom Note from the cabinet next to her, meet with Welther and pickpocket the pantaloons from him (rather than talking to him), and then free Elgea.
9 – Kamir
During the day (roughly between the hours of 6 and 10, and between the hours of 12 and 16), you should meet the paladin Kamir here. He’ll tell you that he failed to protect his son Stefan from brigands, and that he’s looking for a way to atone.
If you head to the southern part of the graveyard, then you’ll meet Arenthis and Risa (#1). Arenthis will tell you that Risa is an orphan, and that she needs a home. If you suggest Kamir to him, then he’ll think that’s an excellent idea.
To complete the quest, you’ll just need to return to Kamir and tell him about Risa. This will earn you 12,250 xp. Kamir will then walk over to Arenthis and adopt the girl. This will earn you an additional 3000 xp.
10 – Tomb
Inside this tomb, you’ll encounter the Crypt King. Killing him will earn you 15,000 xp, and you’ll find the long sword Namarra +2 on his corpse.
B) Entrance to Bodhi’s part of the Lower Tombs. This entrance will remain locked until the main questline wants you to interact with Bodhi.
M) Map exit.
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Luxrah
I love RPGs, MMOs, and weird little indie games. Anything that lets me build and decorate or just has a really good story. I've spent hundreds of hours in Bethesda games and even more time modding them. I also play a lot of World of Warcraft.
