Access to Meldrath's Majestic Mansion
From EQ KnowledgePit
This quest is needed in order to zone in to Meldrath's Majestic Mansion. As of yet it's unclear if this allows a group to zone in or just the person who's completed the quest.
First find Gimblefixx in Dragonscale Hills at a telescope (?) near location (0, 0).
| “ | You say, 'Hail, Gimblefixx'
Gimblefixx says 'Hello there! These certainly are interesting times, my friend. Keeps me busy, it does. Every gnome, dwarf, and elf has come by here to tell me one amazing story after another. It's almost to the point where these stories are getting boring. What we really need is an amazing story, something truly fantastic. I don't suppose you know anything like that? No, I imagine not. But maybe you're a good investigator. Are you [willing to] look into a lead for me?' You say, 'I am willing to' Gimblefixx says 'Well, that's good to hear. I'd look into this myself, but I have to stay here to keep in touch with everything. One of my contacts found this odd looking item. I don't know what it is, but it's obviously finely crafted. One of the nicest pieces of work I've ever seen. Clearly gnomish. I'd like to make a deal with you. I'll give you this thing on two conditions. You find the rest of the device and you tell me the story that comes along with it. How does that sound to you? Is it [a deal]?' You say, 'It's a deal' Gimblefixx says 'Great. I'll show you the thing now, but I'm only giving it to you if I'm convinced you have the rest of the device, whatever it is.' Gimblefixx shows you a finely forged and silver filigreed rod. The rod is thin and about seven inches long, with a thread at one end and eight threaded holes along its length at the other end. 'I'm certain it's gnomish, probably part of some masterwork of tinkering skill. It might even be made by Meldrath himself, but he rarely uses silver. It's been ages since anyone has taken the time or had the skill to make something this detailed, this finely crafted. So find the rest of it and I'll give you this piece, as long as you give me the whole story and figure out what it is and how it's used.' | ” |
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At this point you'll be auto-assigned the task The Search for the Ultimate Story
[edit] Find the rest of the mysterious item
For this step you need to kill minotaurs until you get the following drops:
- Crank Handle with Silver Figurine
- Small Silverthread Sack
- Small Silver Clockwork Device
Upon turning these in:
| “ | Gimblefixx says 'Well done! As promised, I will give you the piece I have. I see it all fitting together now to make a key of some sort. Most curious indeed! I wonder what this key fits. Take it and bring me back further news for my story.' | ” |
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[edit] Find out what the key guards
It turns out it guards the true king of Ak`Anon.
Loc needed
You say, 'Hail, King Ak`anon'
King Ak`anon says 'You, you have my key? Well then, it's good to meet you. I certainly don't know you, but you have found your way here and have rebuilt one of my lost keys. Therefore you have earned my respect. And I can sense that you are not one of [Meldrath]'s servants, for you have the independent air of an adventurer, not one of his cogs.'
You say, 'meldrath'
King Ak`anon says 'Ah, Meldrath. That crazy gnome has had it out for me for years, decades in fact. Long, long ago we heard that he was planning something, so we decided that I should disappear for a while. We were concerned that the peaceful and, I must say, naive folk of Ak'Anon would be lost without their king. This is not due to any great skill of my own, mind you, but because few of them care for the task of managing a city. With me in charge they are free to tinker, research and explore to their hearts content. Making my people happy is my only goal in life, regardless of the risks or inconveniences for me. So I decided to remain in hiding. After all, my replacement seems to be doing a better job at being king than I ever could.' The king of Ak'Anon smiles warmly. 'So I have remained here for a very [long] time.
You say, 'long'
King Ak`anon says 'Well, I figure it's been more than a hundred years.' Another warm smile, 'I know, I don't look a day over ninety. Every time I think about returning to my throne it occurs to me that my replacement is doing a fine job and my people have come to accept him. If I return there will be turmoil. And if I return and then Meldrath finally manages to kill me, things will be very bad for my people. As it is now, Meldrath has never bothered to try to kill my replacement. I guess he figures we'd just make another one.' Laughter this time. 'I suppose I was foolish to hope that he'd just move on to some other ambition, needlepoint perhaps. This time he's decided to take the whole city down. We stopped him, with some help from adventurers like you, but he's not defeated. Say, you seem the clever sort, after all you rebuilt my key. And no doubt you are brave. Perhaps you can find a way to defeat that necromantic menace? Perhaps you would be willing to put your bravery and wits to the [test]?'
You say, 'test'
King Ak`anon says 'The test is simple enough. Kill Meldrath.' Ak'Anon grins, showing surprisingly white teeth. 'I also would like to ask for my key back. You see I would feel safer here if you didn't take it up into Meldrath's crazy flying fortress where he might get his hands on it. This small hut holds the things I need to keep myself hidden and alive.' He leans forward conspiratorially, 'Tinmizer and I came up with a device that sort of locks you in time. When things are safe, I sort of shut myself off for a bit. The magic I used to help build Ak'Anon awaken me when there is danger. That or one of my trusted companions who have keys to this place.' He straightens up again. 'So, will you accept this challenge? If you do, simply hand me the key and I will tell you where to go to get started.'}}
Hand him the key
| “ | King Ak`anon says 'Fantastic! Take this seal. It will alert my agents that you are a trusted person. You should speak with the Warmarshal up on that flying grotesquery, he will probably have the best idea about where to proceed from here. But please, keep my existence quiet. Thank you. Oh and on that note, since I took your key you'll need some other way of leaving this room. I have this portable teleporter but I haven't used it in ages. If you want to [leave] we can give it a try.'
You say, 'leave' King Ak`anon says 'Be safe. I hope this machine still works after all this time.' | ” |
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[edit] Speak to GimbleFixx
| “ | You say, 'Hail, Gimblefixx'
Gimblefixx says 'Well that is definitely quite a story so far but I believe we have just hit the tip of the iceberg. Follow King Ak`Anon's request and find the Warmashal. Remember to report back to me with any details you find.' | ” |
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[edit] Speak with the Clockwork Warmashal
The Clockwork Warmarshal can be found near the zone in in Fortress Mechanotus
| “ | You say, 'Hail, Clockwork Warmarshal'
Clockwork Warmarshal says 'That seal. . .it could't be. If you have come to me it could only be for one reason.' Clockwork Warmarshal says 'These are trying times and we are definitely able to use as much help as possible. You must now go out and seek Gurtrude. She is in charge of our spies as well as on finding a way into the mansion. Speak to her and tell her "Warmarshal sent you". I'm afraid that is all of the information I have for you at this time.' | ” |
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[edit] Speak with Gurtrude the Spymaster and tell her "Warmashal sent you"
Gertrude the Spymaster can be found in a tent near the Warmarshal
| “ | You say, 'The Warmarshal sent you' (NOT "Sent me")
Gurtrude the Spymaster says 'So I see, that can only mean you are here to help us get into the mansion. I have sent countless spies to attempt to break in but they have had little success. Recently however, I sent another spy that has yet to return. If you can locate him, maybe he will have had better results.' | ” |
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[edit] Locate Gurtrude's Missing Spy
Before starting this part of the quest make sure you hail Gurtrude again and get the solo task called 'Disrupt the Workshop.' This can be done by saying 'Work' and then saying 'Solo' and selecting the proper task. Now head to the S.H.I.P Workshop which is located in the Northwest part of Fortress Mechantous. Once you zone into S.H.I.P Workshop there will be a steamwork spy mk-I. Hail him and he will cast a clockwork illusion spell on you. This will make you dubious to all the mobs in the zone except for named mobs. At this point you will need to head to the right and work your way around to the back and go up that elevator to the very top. Once you get up top go straight until you get to the circle room, you will need to turn right here. No you need to take the fourth door on your left. Go up the ramp and through the far side door in that room. You will now be outside again and you need to turn right. The 'an injured spy' will be in the far right corner. Hail the spy for the update.
| “ | You say, 'Hail, an injured spy'
an injured spy says 'Ah, I was wondering if anyone would find me before the end. No matter, it was the choice I made when I decided to serve Ak`Anon. You must complete my mission for me. Give Gurtrude this information and make sure it gets to her safely.' | ” |
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[edit] Return to Gurtrude with the Document
Back to Gertrude...
| “ | You say, 'Hail, Gurtrude the Spymaster'
Gurtrude the Spymaster says 'Shhh. . . A good spy knows to keep her voice low and quiet. Now, have you come here to assist me with my [work], or to [try to join] my gaggle of spies?' | ” |
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Hand her the document.
| “ | Gurtrude the Spymaster says 'What is this? I see, we will miss her contributions to the cause but we must not hestitate to continue. We will make sure her memory is held by succeeding in our mission.'
Gurtrude the Spymaster says 'Her note says that Meldrath's mansion is locked by a key code that changes daily. Only Meldrath's top advisors know the code and even then, it's only part of it.' Gurtrude the Spymaster says 'You must now go out and search for some of these important people and retrieve the codes from them.' | ” |
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[edit] Deliver at least two more document samples from the towers
For this step you need one document from each of the Gyrospires.
In Gyrospire Beza kill Engineer Gyrzim who spawns at approximately location (-211, 76, 348). Engineer Gyrzim is somewhat easily single pulled to the zone in by a competant Bard or FD puller. It also is fairly easy to get a group pretty much right beside where the named spawns in this tower, so you could just move the group near by and clear to the named, there is a loot dropping named that spawns in the same (or nearby) room which if it is up this may be a better choice.
In Gyrospire Zeka kill Technician Masterwork who spawns at approximately location (-150, -45, 455). Technician Masterwork is pretty much at the top of the tower and it is not realistic to be single pulled to the zone in. So for Zeka if you (or your group) don't have a CotH bot camped at the top, expect either a long crawl thru the tower at a semi fast pace or splitting out the random (and at times numerous) see invis mobs out so you can invis past the others to get to the top. Once at the top camp at the top it is not too hard to clear enough mobs for a good puller to get the named single and kill it.
These NPCs respawn in roughly 24 minutes and drop 6 document samples each time they're killed.
Upon handing them in...
| “ | Gurtrude the Spymaster says 'You definitely have what it takes to become a spy. Let me see now. Ah yes, we were right about the key code changing daily. It seems as though I may be able to make a key for the door if I had some scrap metal from the steamworks in this area and your clockwork seal. Go now and bring me back some scraps of metal.' | ” |
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[edit] Give the scrap metal and the clockwork seal to Gurtrude
Presumably gather scrap metal as a random drop from Steamworks. But how many?
Upon turning them in...
| “ | Gurtrude the Spymaster says 'Simply amazing! It will take just a moment to construct your key. Ah, yes, here we go. Now you will need to [configure the key] to enter the mansion. Take the key once configured, and speak to the Warmarshal. I'm sure he will want to have some words with you.'
You say, 'configure the key?' Gurtrude the Spymaster says 'Yes. You will need to stand at the Mansion's front door and use the key until you have aligned each portion of the eight teeth. After you have set a tooth, if you wait five seconds, the mechanotimer will switch the key to the next tooth. Once you have clicked the door to see if it has been configured properly the key will either open the door, or reset the key back to the first tooth of the key. Good luck.' | ” |
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[edit] Speak with Clockwork Warmashal
It doesn't appear that you actually have to configure the key for the task, but probably need to do so before zoning in.
| “ | ou say, 'Hail, Clockwork Warmarshal'
Clockwork Warmarshal says 'You are truly magnificent. You have done what no one else here was able to. You now have access to Meldrath's Mansion. Enter it and snoop around. I am sure there are areas we would love to have valuable information on. I should also warn you that you will first need to configure your key with the door.' You have been assigned the task 'Exploring the Mansion'. | ” |
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Now you have the task Exploring the Mansion and access to the static version of Meldrath's Majestic Mansion.
