ok i accept all flak for this post..but ive played a set of chars all the way through to the illithad (sp?) dungeon after the fishmen thing... and i havent been to trade meet yet.. ive seen people post that they went there after the circus tent quest... how do i get to trademeet? please advise....what if anything is useful (items/exp) to a lev 10-13 evil party in chap 3...

Some wandering child gave me the trademeet quest. I cannot remember exactly where I ran into him, but I think someone at the city gates will also activate the quest for you. As for items, this quest doesn't provide anything especially crucial, but it isn't very time consuming and definitely worth the trip, even if you are eager to see where the main plot develops.

The merchants at Trademeet also sell some cool stuff, so it's definitely worth the trip.
If you didn't finish all the quests by Chap 3, you get a chance to return athkatla in CHap 6 to tie up all the loose ends before proceeding on to Chap 7 (the final chapter in SoA).

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"Butt-kicking for goodness!" - Minsc
"Cities always teem with evil and decay. Let's give it a good shake and SEE WHAT FALLS OUT!!" - Minsc
http://www.dabros.net/images/tcampbell/hadb6copy.jpg

Try going to the Gates district and talking to the peasant you see there. I believe the quest that a child gives you is actually the Umar Hills quest.

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Why?

Is Trademeet lit up on your world map? If not, and you don't get approached by the little kid(I think the kid is minsc related).
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You can go to the temple ruins, and talk to Mazzy, she'll give you the map location. But that is all tied into the Umar hills....It's a tangled web....