A Strange Green Mist

Walkthrough

A Strange Green Mist
Quest giver	Nerzah
Previous quest	The Trouble With Grobb
Starting Zone	Grobb Undercity
Ending Zone	Eastern Wastelands
Suggested Level Range	65 plus
Quest items used	a pulsating chunk Condensed Heart of Mist Heavily-fortified Construct Foot Observations on the Magic of the Master Opal Bracelet (casters) or Iron Shield (tanks) or ?? (priests) or ?? (melee)
Item Reward(s)	Bracelet of Spiritual Emancipation Dagger of Spiritual Emancipation Shield of Spiritual Emancipation Sandals of Spiritual Emancipation

Find Nerzah (Grobb  •) . (In Grobb Undercity, just past Welcoming Committee event.)

Nerzah shouts, 'Be gone from me!'

A mist construct spawns and attacks Nerzah!

Note: Nerzah must survive, and can be healed during the encounter.

You say, 'Hail, Nerzah'

Nerzah says, 'My thanks, <Player Race>...'

You say, 'Hey, you're that messenger, aren't you? ...What the hell are you doing in here?'

Nerzah looks back, conflicted, before she replies, 'I suppose there is no going back... My apologies, <Player Race>, but it was not safe to speak truths when you first encountered me. The Grobb guild leaders did not have me send any message. I sent it on my own behalf... and I must admit, I expected a much swifter, more penetrating response. The risks I have born... the "force" you have brought here hardly seem worth it.'

You say, 'What do you mean?'

Nerzah tells you, 'Oh, even you surely suspected this when I first whispered of "rumors", eh? I am--was--a member of this cult, a follower of Mast... of Serizus, the "illustrious" leader. A traitor in their midst--that is what I truly am. That I have survived among them even this long... But let it be known, <Player Race>: Serizus is no savior of the Iksar, no Redeemer of the Exiles. Everything he has told us, everything he has taught to us... all of it is a lie! Even his fealty to Lord Kaezul--utter lies. Nothing he has promised us will come to be. None of it is his intention... I do not wish to learn what he truly desires of his followers. They have abandoned everything for his guidance... they do not stand a chance of overcoming him.'

You say,'Well.. how did YOU come to find this out, then? Weren't you like all the other members?'

Nerzah looks at you searchingly for a few moments, then grunts. 'You've come this far. You have slain several of his followers already. It is better that they be dead than to live as his pawns. But so long as he lives, so long as he is holed up in these caverns, surrounded by his warped zealots... more and more of the Iksars of Grobb will flock to him. Whatever Serizus intends to do, I doubt he will limit his influence to Grobb and its citizens alone. You will press on, yes? The risk is too great to ignore, even for you. What does it matter, why or how I beckoned you to come here?'

You say,'I don't know anything about this "Serizus". If there's anything you can tell me, it may help us to defeat him...'

Nerzah looks at you, then turns her eyes to the ground, looking conflicted once again. After a long silence, she begins, her eyes still turned away from you. 'Not long ago, <Player Race>--a lifetime ago, it would seem--I was an apprentice under the Spiritist's guild of Grobb. I was training to be a shaman... but I forsook my training--and my life, my family, my *true* heritage--to join the "Cult of the Redeemer". I had never learned to commune with the spirits. My master had said that the spirits of the swamp had grown too weak, that it would take much skill to finally speak with them--and the stories of Serizus' quick "enhancements" tipped the balance for my youthful naivete. How much I have aged in these few months...'

You say,'Go on.'

Nerzah lifts her head and stares at the ceiling. 'I became quite an ardent, <Player Race>. I savored news of Kaezulian invasions as they all did. I was never chosen for one of Serizus' experiments, but I felt that I *belonged* no less. But, one day... I heard them.'

You say,'Them"?'

Nerzah's eyes meet your own. 'The spirits, <Player Race>. The spirits of this swamp. I never learned to beckon them to communion, but they were able to beckon *me*. I know little of the ways of the spirits, but when they spoke to me, I felt a certain sense of desperation... an unrestrained, haggard urgency, like that of a severely wounded animal... I could not understand all that they tried to convey to me, but about Serizus, there is no doubt: he is no Kaezulian. He is no Redeemer. He will never return us to Ikisith... His plans for us are his and his alone. The spirits warned me, and so I have warned you. But you have moved so slowly! I was convinced that I must confront Serizus myself, but... I have been discovered. I suppose this is no longer my struggle... Go, <Player Race>. Perhaps you can redeem us from our fell faith...'

Find Marilda (Greenmist Jungle  at 1025, 1245  • In stone hut) .

You say, 'Hail, Marilda'

Marilda says, 'Hail, Seeker <Player Name>. Have you any news?'

You say, 'I encountered the messenger again. It seems the situation is not quite what it appeared...'

Marilda listens as you repeat your conversation with Nerzah. 'I see... I will have to inform High Seeker Gavin of this right away. So the guilds did not ask for our help at all, then? I only hope that our efforts haven't been too forward as yet. In any case, Seeker <Player Name>, I thank you for bringing this information to me. I am honored to work with you on this most trying matter.'

Give Marilda a pulsating chunk.

Marilda tells you, 'You found this in the lair of the cultists, Seeker <Player Name>? Strange... there is certainly some residual magic about it, but it is not quite like anything I have seen before. Perhaps it has something to do with the spirits that--Nerzah, was it?--mentioned. Or perhaps... hmm...'

Marilda returned a pulsating chunk to you.

You say, 'There is a strange green mist althroughout the lair... it seemed almost alive.'

Marilda looks up at you, shocked by your words. '...Mist? Are you certain, <Player Name>?'

You say, 'That's what it seemed like.'

Marilda ponders for a moment. 'It is said that after Baldakos betrayed his brethern and unleashed an unknown weapon against Nagthilian, all that remained was a seething, malevolent, and utterly pernicious mist. Similar mist hung over Kelethin for quite some time as well, remnants of Kaezul's victory there... No one was able to study this mist, though more than one Seeker perished in an attempt to retrieve a sample. It was simply too destructive, too uncontrolled... and when it departed from Kelethin, not a trace remained. Is it possible that you have found the sample that has eluded us? ...This is too important to leave uninvestigated. With this, we may be able to find some advantage for you to take against this 'Serizus', but more importantly... it may provide us with a decisive advantage against Kaezul, when the time comes.'

You say, 'What should we do, then?'

Marilda takes another moment to ponder, weighing the options. 'I must inform High Seeker Gavin, of course. But there's no sense in waiting for his reply before we do anything. Besides which, a thorough arcane examination of an unrecorded type of magical residue could take weeks just to determine *IF* something useful could be extracted from it.' Marilda pauses briefly. 'There may be another option, however...'

You say, 'Another option?'

Marilda tells you, 'There is a man I would like you to show this to, <Player Name>. His name is Geraldan Darkwater, as I seem to recall. He is a very wise man and very unusual man. He is no sorceror, to be sure, but his insights into the nature of magic were astounding. He worked with the Seekers for a time, and more importantly, he observed the mist in Nagthilian--if only from afar--while we were attempting to recover a sample... If anyone could tell us if we are dealing with the same phenomenon, and perhaps give us something to work with besides, it would be him.'

You say, 'Where can I find this Geraldan Darkwater?'

Marilda tells you, 'He always refused our offers to lodge and study in our sanctuary in the Valley of Erimal... He is a native of Halas, but I was given the impression that he did not have good relations with his kin. I'm afraid I don't really know more than that, <Player Name>. But it is imperative that you find him as soon as possible! Who knows what he might be able to tell us?'

Find Geraldan Darkwater (Eastern Wastelands  at -8840, -2086, 137  • Behind Icefeather) .

Give Geraldan Darkwater a pulsating chunk.

Geraldan Darkwater takes the pulsating chunk in his hands and looks down at it in silence. Soon he turns to you, his face calm and impassive, but his gaze piercing--almost disturbingly so. 'Hmmm... A Seeker, are you?'

You say, 'How can you tell?'

Geraldan Darkwater tells you, 'Your allegiances follow you as much as they guides you, <Player Race>. Ah--<Player Name>, is it? And a veteran of many battles... Much weight follows you.'

You say, '...What can you tell me about the magic in this item? Is it--'

Geraldan Darkwater tells you, '--akin to the Mist of Nagthilian? No, <Player Name>, it isn't. The Mist of Nagthilian had a much greater presence than this... and the feel is quite different. There is certainly something unusual about the magic of this item, but I can tell that a much larger, unified quantity of this stuff would be nothing like the tendrils of Baldakos. But the fact that you were able to recover this chunk without being disintegrated in the process told you that much, I'm sure.'

You say, 'There was something definitely mist-like about the creature this came from... are you sure they aren't at all similar?'

Geraldan concentrates on the pulsating chunk, gazing at it intently. He continues to peer at it as he speaks, 'There is something, <Player Name>... A vague similarity. There was much about the Mist of Nagthilian that was beyond my understanding, but... Where *that* Mist pulsed with an overwhelming and berserk malevolence, *this* exudes a deep sadness... There is something I should have mentioned earlier, <Player Name>-- something quite familiar in this magic that was certainly lacking in the Mist of Nagthilian.'

You say, 'What is it?'

Geraldan Darkwater tells you, 'Spirits, <Player Name>. Spirits of the swamp, I believe. I'm not sure how to explain it to you, other than to say that someone took the metaphysical "stuff" of a bunch of swamp spirits and twisted into a manipulable pseduo-magical "stuff". You found this with a construct, yes? That would probably be the most stable use of such a thing... Freeform, it may be more destructive, but much harder to keep together. The swamp spirits are still "in" it in some sense, you see, and I don't think they're quite happy about it--thus the sadness. If this "mist" was spread too thin, I believe the spirits that constitiute it would "break free", so to speak, and the "mist" would cease to be anything more than a few fancy enchantments berift of an object to enchant. I suppose this is a little esoteric to someone like you, <Player Name>--but I find that you're more likely to understand something like this *without* the kind of ancient wizardry the Seekers rely on, haha!'

You say, 'How certain are you of this..? I mean, is there some way we could just "spread" the mist out to dispell it?'

Geraldan Darkwater tells you, 'Ah, well of course, it isn't *quite* that simple. This stuff may be able to reach out and touch you in various ways, but touching it back isn't quite so simple--especially in a way that isn't just trying to destroy it bit by bit, spirits and all. Unfortunately, the same instability that makes the freeform mist more vulnerable would likely make it harder to "touch" in the right way... But, you *did* get this from a construct, correct?'

You say, 'Uh, yeah.'

Geraldan Darkwater tells you, 'If I were using this stuff to drive a construct... Well, the reason it is stable while it's "in" a construct is because a bunch of enchantments are slapped onto the physical form of the construct. Without the physical body of the construct, using these kinds of stablizing enchanters would be nearly impossible--at least with most known forms of magic. In any case, usually when you want to stop a construct, you just destroy its body. The "stuff" that drives the construct will still be there, but with the body battered and useless, it can only sit there and decay, or maybe seep out as the enchantments fade. Here's my thought, though: it's not exactly orthodox, but if you could piercing the enchantments themselves, rather than the body, the stuff inside would rush out pretty quickly. Not only that, but a sudden transition like that would likely weaken the "stuff" altogether... that may be all it would take to set the spirits free from it. Now, even if you could "pierce" the enchantments like that, it wouldn't exactly disintegrate every golem you come across, but I'm thinking it would help.'

You say, 'I'll take whatever help I can get.'

Geraldan Darkwater tells you, 'Good! Now, it's been quite a while, and I'd likely be flying by the seat of my pants the whole way, but with a little more to work with, I think I could devise a spell to "pierce" the kind of enchantments that binds this stuff together. Er, maybe not a spell as such--I doubt you or anyone you know would be able to understand it well enough to cast it... But, I'm sure I could imbue a piece of equipment with it. Not just any piece of equipment, perhaps, but something free of enchantments...'

You say, 'Well, what will you need?'

Geraldan looks out across the dark seascape and ponders for a few moments. 'A bigger chunk of the physical body of one of the constructs in question would definitely make things easier. A sample of this "stuff" that isn't attached to any physical body is something else I'll need. Now, just swishing an empty vial through the first cloud of mist you see probably isn't going to be sufficient--what I need is a really, hmm... areally concentrated, unified sample of it. I'm quite sure how to tell you to get that, but I suppose discovery is more the adventurer's department anyway, hmm? Beyond that... if I know anything about sorcerers--and I do--then anyone toying with such unusual magic has probably written something about it. Any kind of first-hand account of this magic will be very useful. And then I suppose I would just need something to bind my spell to--in your case, I think a plain opal bracelet will do nicely.'

Your journal has been updated! [A Strange Green Mist]

Gather and give Geraldan Darkwater :

Heavily-fortified Construct Foot

Condensed Heart of Mist

Observations on the Magic of the Master

Opal Bracelet or Iron Shield or MISSING TEXT or MISSING TEXT

Geraldan Darkwater looks over the items with a gleam of adventurous joy in his eyes. 'Ah, excellent, <Player Name>! It has been so long since I've had a proper challenge!' You watch from a distance, unable to keep track of Geraldan's outlandish enchanting procedures. Hours pass, and you find yourself beginning to doze off when he beckons for you. '<Player Name>! I believe this belongs to you. I hope it will be of some use!

You gain 58333 experience!!

You receive Bracelet of Spiritual Emancipation or Dagger of Spiritual Emancipation or Shield of Spiritual Emancipation or Sandals of Spiritual Emancipation from Geraldan Darkwater.

You have completed a quest. [A Strange Green Mist]