In Baldur’s Gate, and basically everywhere else in Faerûn, gold is what really counts. That’s why Rakash has a real problem on his hands when Minsc steals 10,000 gold pieces from the Counting House to fund the Absolute’s cult.
You’re most likely going to stumble into the “Return Rakath’s Gold” quest while chasing down Minsc with Jaheira in Act 3. After speaking with Nine-Fingers at the Guildhall, you’ll be sent to the Counting House where you’ll see Minsc burst out of a Mimic’s mouth before helping a false ‘Jaheira’ make off with the gold. Rakath asks for your help and promises a worthy reward if you don’t keep the gold for yourself.
There’s more than one fight standing between you and the gold, but the payout for this particular side quest is well worth the work. When all’s said and done, keeping the gold for yourself will make you rich, but bringing it back to Rakath will get you one of the best pieces of armor in the game. He rewards you with the Elegant Studded Leather – light armor that gives you 14 +Dex for your AC, +2 on Initiative rolls, Advantage on Stealth checks, and access to the Shield spell. Plus, if you’ve got a character with a silver tongue, you can talk him into throwing in 5,000 gold.
How to return Rakath’s gold
First things first, you’ll need to figure out where Minsc is hiding. After helping out in the battle between Minsc and Rakath, I found a note talking about a hideout in the Sewers on the body of one of Minsc’s slain comrades. You can also just walk into the large vault at the end of the room and pass a Perception check to notice muddy trails of sewage. Gross.
To get to the hideout, I’d recommend teleporting to the Undercity Ruins waypoint and heading south back into the Sewers. From there you’ll want to go west until you reach the Abandoned Cistern. At the furthest northwestern end of the cistern, you’ll find a locked Sluice Gate. You might be able to pass a Strength check on a lever to open the gate, but I had Karlach put all her muscles into it and got nowhere.
To get the gate to open, you’ll need to balance the water pressure and temperature by turning the wheels above the gate. There’s a note nearby that will give you a little insight into how to pull this off, and meters beside each wheel that indicate the optimum level of pressure and temperature. Turn the wheel on the left first and let it click up for a few seconds before turning the temperature wheel on the right. When the meters line up in the middle, the Sluice Gate will open, and you’ll either want to hit the release lever or run down to the gate before the pipes burst.
Once through the gate, you’ll find Minsc and the fake Jaheira handing the gold over to a Zhentarim agent. When a fight inevitably breaks out, don’t worry about chasing down the Zhentarim. Focus on the other enemies, but make sure to toggle non-lethal damage before taking down Minsc if you want to keep him as a follower. One trick to smooth this fight over that worked extremely well for me is having someone – Shadowheart, in my case – cast Dominate Person on Minsc in the first round. Then he’ll be fighting on your side, and after everyone else is dead you can worry about knocking him out.
After you’ve either killed or freed Minsc, you’ll need to track down that Zhentarim. They went directly back to the Guild Hall because they were planning to take more power in the city by overthrowing Nine-Fingers. You’ll have to kill them to loot the stolen gold, but you’ve got two things already going for you in this fight. First, Nine-Fingers and her guildsmen are fighting on your side. Second, you’ve got the high ground.
From here you can keep the 10,000 gold in your inventory if you don’t want to return it. Otherwise, head back down to the vaults in the Counting House and speak to Rakath. If you tell Rakath that the guild should have to pay for having lost the gold in the first place, you might be able to pass a Persuasion check to keep half of what was stolen. Whether or not you get to have the extra money, Rakath will reward you with a couple of thousand gold and the key to High-Security Vault n°9, which holds the Elegant Studded Leather.
