Saving Shaylan Nairu

The only member of the second set of hidden presences. She can spawn in the area at the top of the waterfall or in the basement. She will not spawn in the water so don't bother with the fish and sea horses. As mentioned, there's only one Vah in this set. It makes up for it by being an extremely irritating one. It's very rare and it's an extremely long dialogue which actually ends up involving more people than just you and the Vah you're rescuing. Fair warning, you will get teleported to a different part of the zone at one point during the conversation but unless you're afraid of walruses, you're in no danger. If you see a Mass of Frozen Fish drop off the elementals while clearing, grab it - it's for a side quest.

The Vah
Quest giver	Nevaldan Rehn
Next quest	Rescuing the Vah - Set Two
Previous quest	Rescuing the Vah - Set Two
Starting Zone	Southern Waste of Tarhyl
Ending Zone	Siren's Grotto
Suggested Level Range	65
Quest items used	Mark of the Vah (Quest item)
Positive (+) Faction	Vah Rehn Survivors
Related overview	Farmer Tenkin's Crops When a Cat is Cornered There's More To Be Found Rescuing the Vah - Set One Set One (Hidden Presences) Saving Ryhajin Kajek Saving Araghin Vahl Saving Mira Shahar Rescuing the Vah - Set Two Set Two (Hidden Presences) Saving Shaylan Nairu Rescuing the Vah - Set Three Set Three (Hidden Presences) Saving Hyvek Vahl Saving Verjya Hakahm Saving Vyre Sraen Saving Sorysia Laythen Oracle Eyes Sane Madness Collecting banners (may start after receiving the Rehn Banner) Standard of the Vahir The Trapped Vahir Set Four (Shir Blades) Saving Vahir Rahkahl Saving Vahir Ghan Standard of the Vah Sraen Sins of the Father Standard of the Vah Kajek Deaf Leading the Blind Standard of the Vah Hakahm And You Thought Darkwoods Was Bad... At Any Price Standard of the Vah Rashaam Yejhana's Lodestone quest Until There Is No Enemy Standard of the Vah Shahar One of My Little Indulgences Under the Black Rose Strange Appetites The Liar and the Whore Standard of the Vahl The Liar and the Whore The Vah - Final Quest Additional sidequests (Optional goodies) Eye Spy Unlocked after Rescuing the Vah - Set One Cube Gigging Building the Future Unlocked after Rescuing the Vah - Set Three Arrows Don't Grow on Trees Unlocked after The Trapped Vahir - Set Four Shir Blade (Paladin) quests Shir Blade (Shadowknight) quests

Walkthrough

Find a hidden pressence in Siren's Grotto and hail it to spawn Shaylan Nairu.

You say, 'Hail, a hidden presence'

a hidden presence says, 'Leave me be!'

You say, 'Lyjan Vahl sent me. I've come to help you.'

An old vah stumbles into view, one hand out for balance, moving carefully on the wet floor. Her drenched clothing drapes limply about her, but she stares at you with wild eyes.

You say, 'Hail, Shaylan Nairu'

Shaylan Nairu says, 'Please, you've got to help me! I was just there, I just had him, but now he's gone! You've got to help me!'

You say, 'Had who? What's going on?'

Shaylan Nairu says, 'My boy! Please, please help me! Oh gods, it was so cold, so cold down there, he won't make it without me!'

You say, 'Calm down, tell me what happened.'

Shaylan nods, but her breathing is still rapid and shallow. She clutches her soaking shawl tightly, only now becoming aware that she's wet and cold. 'We were on a boat away from the city. The weather was turning sour, the skies were filled with wind.' She pauses for a moment. 'I told him to go below. Then I heard the watchman shout.'

You say, 'Then what happened?'

Shaylan speaks slowly, enunciating carefully. 'May day, may day, may day, he shouted.' She inhales sharply, wiping tears from the wet fur below her eyes. Her hand raises slowly, as if in a dream. She points at something below and in front of her, then continues in a calm voice. 'There's a vah, he's over board.'

You say, '-Let her continue.-'

Shaylan Nairu says, 'I remember... he looked so small, down there in the black.' Her head shakes side to side as some of the emotion returns to her voice. 'I could barely see his head clear the water before another wave crashed down. Everyone was yelling, men were fetching rope, but I couldn't hear them. It was just me on the boat, and his tiny body down in the waves, and that's all there was in the whole world.'

You say, 'But what-'

Shaylan continues, almost--but not quite--ignoring you. 'The watchman put his hand on my shoulder to pull me away. He didn't know who I was, and he wanted to help Shan, and he pulled me away. That's when I screamed, I think. Maybe it was earlier. When he pulled me away, that's when I heard myself screaming.' Her hands shake, claws flexing in and out. She tries to tug her shawl tight, but has a hard time keeping hold of it. 'I wanted to tell him: 'That's my boy, let me save him', but the words wouldn't come.'

You say, 'What did you do'

Shaylan Nairu says, 'The world spun around. I couldn't see the water anymore, but I could see the watchman.' She's talking faster now, the wild look has returned to her eyes. 'He was looking past me, he never saw my hand until it was too late and there was blood on his face. I didn't hurt him badly, but I had to get past him. You understand, don't you?'

You say, 'I think--'

Shaylan Nairu says, 'I pushed past him, jumped into the water. It was cold, so cold--it was hard to move, hard to think, but my arms kept going. I found Shan. I don't know how. We were under, my lungs burned as I swam to the surface with him. We were almost there. I could see the light from the torches on the side of the boat, but then they got bright.' Her hands shake, her ears lay flat back. 'They were *too* bright. They turned the wrong color. Then everything was white. Something brought me here! Something took me away from my Shan! I have to get back to him I have to save him I HAVE TO GO TO HIM!' the last is fairly a shriek. It echoes into the cavern, leaving Shaylan alone with the silence. After a moment, you hear footsteps.

a traveler says, 'I heard a scream. Can I help?'

You say, 'Hail, a traveler'

The traveler reaches out a hand to steady Shaylan, but when she touches the vah her expression changes. The traveler glances at you. 'She's cold. Too cold. We have to help her.'

Shaylan jerks away from the traveler's hand. 'No! Shan's still down there! He's still in the water! We have to save him!'

You say, 'Shaylan, that was long ago.'

Shaylan Nairu says, 'No! It just happened!'

The traveler drapes a cloak around Shaylan, mumbling a spell to ward off the chill. 'No, Shaylan. The bright light took you... away from all that. It is many, many years later, now. Your people are few. They need your help.'

You say, 'Wait, what do you know--'

Shaylan rounds on the traveler. '*What?!* Why would someone do that? *Shan* needed me! I've got to go back...' She's angry, but her voice has grown very small. Her shivering seems to have stopped, and faint wisps of steam rise off her soaked clothing.

The traveler pauses, contemplating. 'It was long ago for us, but for you it just happened. But you would have died, Shaylan. The rope wasn't strong enough to hold you both, and by the time they got Shan aboard, you were too weak to keep swimming.'

You say, 'It doesn't matter! She wanted to save him, it was her choice to make! I don't know what you have to do with this, but there was *no right* to pull her away from that!'

a traveler says, ' [sic]The traveler listens to you carefully. Her expression is difficult to read, but it seems alternately vexed, ashamed, even sad. After a moment, she comes to a conclusion, and speaks decisively. 'There is no way to go back, but Shan might yet be saved. Tell me about him, let me know him, I can almost hear him whisper--I can follow the memory back from person to person and find Shan, bring him back.'

You say, 'What's your role in all this? I want some answers!'

The traveler's glare cuts short your question, and then Shaylan starts to speak. 'Shan...' She swallows, her jaw quivering slightly. 'Shan stole from me in the market. That's how I met him. I grabbed his wrist. The fur was slick with grime, I had to squeeze to hang on. 'What are you doing?' I said. 'Boys your age shouldn't be thieves.' Seeing his little face looking up at me, I couldn't bear to take the coin back, but even so--'they shouldn't be beggars, either,' I thought.

You say, '-Wait quietly.-'

The traveler shakes her head. 'I didn't know. I didn't know *any* of this!' The words are anathema to her, far weightier than anything said since. 'Hurry, this spot is poor. We've got to move! You, <Player Name>, say something. We must make haste!'

Note: You will be ported to a different location in the zone after this point.

You say, 'Hail, a traveler.'

The traveler casts a very quick spell. You find yourself standing by a great pool.

You say, 'Please, Shaylan, continue.'

Shaylan nods, her eyes closed. 'I saw him again the next time I went to market. Looked for him, even--I'd bought him bread and meat. Not longer after, I got him to talk. He told me about his life--where the best spots were, who wouldn't mind if you took a little, who would hit you if they caught you, where to sleep without having to keep one eye open. He shared his secrets with me because I was the only one he could trust, he said. The other boys might be his friends, but if too many took even the nice vendors could turn mean.'

You say, '-Let her continue.-'

Shaylan Nairu says, 'After a time, I stopped having to look for him. We met regularly by the pool to talk. Soon, I found myself making excuses to make the trip to the city. One day, not long after, I asked him if he wanted to come stay with me.

You say, 'What happened next?'

Shaylan and the traveler speak at the same time. 'He came with me out of the city, to the docks. We bought tickets for the Fhaa Haraishan. Shan had no sea legs--It was the first time he'd ever been on a boat. He was always running to and fro, on the deck. I made him promise: no stealing.' Around you, the air seems to grow thick, charged--a white nimbus appears over the water.

You say, 'It's working!'

Shaylan and the traveler continue. 'As the day grew on, the sky became worse. Soon the winds rose. I told him to go below. Then I heard the watchman shout: 'May day, may day, may day! There's a vah, he's over board! There's a bright flash, then a small vah lies before you. Both the traveler and Shaylan yell.

Shaylan crouches by Shan, holding him tight, but after a moment she looks up at you. 'I... I don't understand. I had him in my arms, we were at the surface, and he was warm, but now he's cold.' Her ears fall, her speech is uneven. 'She brought him back, *but he's cold*.' She clutches Shan tightly to her, stroking the dead child's head and sobbing. 'I don't understand.'

You say, 'Hail, a traveler'

a traveler says, 'Shaylan...' the traveler chokes back the words, then starts again. 'Shaylan, the child was alone when he died. There... there weren't enough memories connecting to him. When you were saved, he was lost. He was forgotten not long after he drowned in the icy waters of the north sea.' Shaylan wails, clutching the child closer. When her breath fails her she's reduced to sobbing. The traveler speaks again, but her voice is strange, fuller than it was a moment ago. '<Player Name> will take you to your people--You need to get out of the wet cold. I will tend to Shan, and then I will come with you.' She turns to you. '<Player Name>, give her the mark.'

Give Shaylan Nairu:

• Mark of the Vah

You place the amulet around Shaylan's neck. The matron looks at you with dead eyes as the Mark begins to glow.

Your faction standing with Vah Rehn Survivors has gotten better!