FINALLY

Now I may actually finish the game lol

... wait that was a bug? Welp, time to update my guide posts instead of continuing into act 3 hahahehehh... *kill me*

Jaheira: Dark dreams? Jaheira: I think I can guess. Visions of blood on your hands. The blood in your veins, perhaps. Jaheira: For all the gifts Bhaal's children inherit - a peaceful night's sleep is not among them. Kyvir: How could you possibly know? Jaheira: I've slept beside a Bhaalspawn before. I know the signs - the dreams, the urges... the power. Jaheira: And so I come to ask: what did it take for you to earn that Slayer-skin you hide so well? Kyvir: Innocent blood. As innocent as my own: I have no control over when my body kills. Jaheira: I have spent my life fighting your father in whatever form he chose to take. By rights, I should cut you down here. Jaheira: But that would be a mercy. One you have not earned. Jaheira: You are twice-tainted, yes. But whatever you have done - you might yet serve the good. Jaheira: Whatever its source, the Slayer form is a weapon like any other. And if you mean to master it, I know where you must go. Jaheira: To face the other of your kind - Orin. So long as the other lives, neither of you can claim your full power. Kyvir: And what will become of me, if I beat her? Jaheira: Show daddy dear that you alone choose your fate. You are a child of Bhaal - but that need not be all that you are. Jaheira: And when you stand against him, you will not stand alone. Kyvir: What if I slip out of control again? You will kill me? Jaheira: You will be protected. Even from yourself. Jaheira: For now, rest. Sleep escapes me, so I might as well take the watch. Narrator: *You rest with the knowledge that you are being watched over. Or indeed, guarded.*

The plot thickens! I love how Jaheira confronts you about being Bhaalspawn the same night you remember it, it's like she was waiting.

I assume the bit about Jaheira having slept beside a Bhaalspawn before is a reference to the Throne of Bhaal DLC from BG2? Something from one of the earlier games, anyway. So, y'know, not gonna get into it. I'll probably have more to say when I actually play the earlier games, but for now I'm gonna leave it at... that's probably a reference, that's cool. And of course Karlach also brings up that Jaheira was involved in the Bhaalspawn Crisis when you first meet her, so there's also an explanation here for people who haven't played the first two games as to why Jaheira would have personal experience with them. I wonder if they partially brought Jaheira (or at least a member of the BG2 cast) back because she had that personal experience with Bhaalspawn that would allow her to call Durge out? It would be a bit of a missed opportunity if no one in the group could recognize Durge for what they are, after all.

That aside, it's interesting to me that Jaheira considers killing Durge a mercy. I suspect that's also context I'm missing from having started with the third game, but if it's important and not just her own opinion on the Bhaalspawn I'm sure it'll come up here. I'm also fascinated by how she decides they haven't "earned" that "mercy" yet; if they haven't earned it because they've been a naughty little murderer (which Kyvir has), then she's not killing them when they've proved themselves to be actively dangerous, which seems odd.

It's also very good that while Jaheira clearly isn't exactly comfortable with the idea of adventuring with a Bhaalspawn—especially since in this run Kyvir's killed enough to earn the Slayer form—she also has a certain degree of sympathy for them. She thinks they're dangerous and possibly outright evil, but she also clearly thinks that they are capable of choosing their own path instead of just being loyal to their father! She probably will try to kill them if they don't turn on their father and choose to help him with his apocalyptic plans, but if they instead choose to fight for the future of Faerûn against their father she and the rest of the group will have their back, even if it means fighting Bhaal himself. She also doesn't tell the group about Durge being Bhaalspawn; you can do it yourself, but it doesn't look like Jaheira has any intention of spilling the beans at least at this point. It's really very kind of her to leave that up to them, although it remains to be seen how long she'll keep quiet about it.

And it's interesting that she's also encouraging them to claim the Slayer's full power; I don't know if the Slayer comes up in any of the games she's in (don't tell me), but it doesn't necessarily seem wise to encourage someone who's already so tied to Bhaal and who clearly has at least some desire to please him hardwired into them from their past, whatever the details of that past are, to go after more power from him. But hey, she knows more about the Bhaalspawn than I do, maybe it's fine. I mean, the Slayer's power will definitely come in handy, provided Durge can keep it under control; maybe she's decided that the risks associated with a Bhaalspawn actively seeking out their father's power while they're fighting Bhaal are worth the reward of having a Slayer with all Bhaal's available power behind it on their side. It's also very interesting that that's how it works; Bhaal can't or won't grant full power to any of his children if there's more than one alive? I guess that might explain why he went from sending a whole army of his children in to do his bidding to having two known children and setting one to kill the other.

Also: don't think I missed how Jaheira doesn't actually give a straight answer when Durge asks if she'll kill them if they slip again. Killing them could be covered under protecting them from themselves, if protecting them from themselves includes protecting them from the atrocities they could commit if they lose control.