Vrald's Lost Brother
From EQ KnowledgePit
| Vrald's Lost Brother | |
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| Name: | Vrald's Lost Brother |
| Zone: | Loping Plains |
| Starting NPC: | Vrald |
| Ending NPC: | Vrald |
| Type: | Task |
| Goal: | Experience, loot |
| Related Zones: | N/A |
| Related NPCs: | |
[edit] General Information
This task starts with Vrald in the Loping Plains, he sits in the small camp right next to the Steamfont zone line. It yields some experience, along with Vrald's Silken Sack, a 100% weight reduction/50% coin weight reduction bag with 10 capacity, giant size, and 0.1 weight.
[edit] Quest Information
To start this task, hail Vrald in the Loping Plains, and follow the dialog:
| “ | You say, 'Hail, Vrald'
Vrald says 'I'll be gettin' on with my [business], outsider, and you best be gettin' on with yours. I've got some hard tidings to drink to.' You say, 'What business do you have?' Vrald says 'Have a knack for stickin' yer beak into the beeswax of others, eh? Can't let a dwarf drown his sorrows in peace, can ya? Well, maybe I'll let you in on my little dilemma. My brother Wegar has gone [missing] somewhere in Were-orc lands.' You say, 'Missing?' Vrald says 'Yes, that sack of filth of a brother of mine has been missing for days. Last I heard, he was going to do some scouting for a safer entrance to the Drangol Point goblin mines. Oh, I don't know if there ever was a lost entrance to the mines, but he's been piping up such a lot of smoke over it at every tavern he went into, it's a wonder every dwarf in Faydwer isn't on their way here. Wegar's always been more trouble than he's been worth... but you know, I would pay someone well to bring his [journal] back.' You say, 'You think he dropped his journal?' Vrald says 'Yeah. Just explore the area at the base of the long switchback path winding down the cliff-face to the west, watch out for the goblins, keep your eyes peeled for any sign of Wegar. He was alone, and wouldn't have decided to take on all of the goblins at that fort by himself. Knowing his uneasiness with unmarked terrain, I'd wager he never strayed far from the beaten trail leading to Drangol Point in his quest for the secret mine entrance. So... will you help me find Wegar, or what's [left] of him?' You say, 'I will help find what's left of him.' You have been assigned the task 'Vrald's Lost Brother' Vrald says 'Fine. You can expect a share of any salvage, in addition ot the coin I'll be paying for the errand. Mind ya, don't talk to the Fangbreakers about this. I don't want them getting any funny ideas about jumping Wegar's claim to the mines... for his claim would pass to me, and I'll not be sharin' it with monster-hunters! Their lot will be to clear my new mines of monsters, not wallow in its profits!' | ” |
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[edit] Task Objectives
[edit] Items Used
[edit] Rewards
[edit] Quest Walkthrough
To start out, it should be noted that parts of this quest are easily soloable, while others will require at least a friend or two to complete.
[edit] Find Wegar's journal and return it to Vrald
That said, the first step (after getting the task) is to find Wegar's Journal. This is still on Wegar`s Corpse, which can be found at location (-1130, -2475, 155), underneath a bush at the bottom of the ramp down from Steamfont Mountains. Getting close to the corpse will automatically place the journal on your cursor, and complete the first objective. Take this back up to the camp and give it to Vrald to complete the second objective, and trigger the following short speech from Vrald:
| “ | Vrald says 'Oh, ya found Wegar's journal! Let's see what the old mule's last words were. Aha, there's an entry where he talks about the disease that has struck these lands. He wrote down a guess as to what's causing it. There's no such thing as a dwarf that guesses, one either knows something or he doesn't! I suspect Wegar is lying in his journal, thinking I might stumble across it someday. I think he found his secret entrance somewhere up on Drangol Point, and cleverly hid the knowledge of its location so I'd never discover it! Well, we'll see about that. This talk of disease is just a clever ruse. Yeah, go up to Drangol Point and look around in front of the fort for a goblin who'll tell you how to get into the mine. There's talk of one they call the Shadowloper. He might be important.' | ” |
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[edit] Look for Wegar's secret mine entrance, kill Shadowloper, loot his charm, and bring it to Vrald
The next step is to go find the Shadowloper, and the mine entrance. Head north from the Fang Breakers camp; the objective completes itself around location (570, -3015, 715), right outside the big camp wall. However, the mine is not there. Instead, you find a bunch of goblins, summoned by the Shadowloper; naturally, your next step is to go kill the Shadowloper, who paths around the area outside the camp's wall. He isn't easy; on his own, he only hits for 1200 or so max (with flurry), but he summons lots of Drangol ghouls, rather quickly, which also hit for a max of 1200 or so. When he dies, the objective will update; loot your Garish Festival Charm and take it back to Vrald to update another objective, and get another speech:
| “ | Vrald says 'Heh, this Festival Charm was stolen by the goblins! Who knows, maybe the goblins are the ones behind this talk of a curse spreading in from the north. They may have been the ones who laid waste to the old festival grounds up north of Wayunder Lake. I'll wager they know more than their goobly mouths can utter, but you've already worn out the goblins at Drangol Point. This time, try the Nightwalker Goblin camps in the northeast, by the trail to the Hills of Shade. If any goblins are connected with what happened to the Festival, it would be them. They're supposed to be a nasty lot of goblins who smell like pond-slime and pick their teeth with splintered dwarf bones. Kill five of their sentries!' | ” |
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[edit] Kill five Nightwalker Sentries, one Plague-Ridden Nightwalker, and report to Vrald
Your next step, of course, is to go kill some Nightwalker goblins. Five Nightwalker sentries, specifically. A small Nightwalker camp can be found around a campfire to the north, around location (2480, -600, 415). Kill five of the sentries to complete the sixth task objective.
Once the fifth sentry dies, look around the camp for a plague-ridden nightwalker. It will be a lighter shade of green than the rest - and there may be several stacked on top of one another. Only one is necessary to complete the objective for the whole group. Once it's killed, head back to hail Vrald to complete the eighth objective, and hear yet another speech:
| “ | You say, 'Hail, Vrald'
Vrald says 'Ah, so the disease is real after all... and the Nightwalker Goblins had nothing to do with it, you say? Well, that changes things. It means that the story I just read in Wegar's journal may not be total hogwash. At first I wondered if he had gotten into the wild herbs again while he was writing down an outlandish tale of magical trees in his journal. The Oracle of the Three Oaks, a ways west of the Nightwalker Goblin lands, from what Wegar says in his journal. There you might find the key to stopping the disease spreading from the north. If the scourge that struck the Hills of Shade is on the move, it'll make it difficult to mine this region. See what this Oracle has to say that might be helpful; if it turns out to be a waste of our time, I might donate my axe for tree-removal...' | ” |
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[edit] Hail the Oracle of Three Oaks, explore the Roots of Elddandor, bring an Idlegrime Spore back to the Oracle, and return to Vrald
Now you have to go talk to a nymph in a tree. The Oracle of the Three Oaks can be found inside a giant tree, at location (2345, 2780, 345), toward the northwest corner of the zone. Walk into the tree and hail her to complete the objective, and she'll say the following:
| “ | You say, 'Hail, Oracle of the Three Oaks'
Your task 'Vrald's Lost Brother' has been updated. Oracle of the Three Oaks says 'Traveler, what brings you here? Has not the myth of the Phantom been enough to discourage you hither? The Phantom is the psirit of a dead elf, an unknown performer at the Festival Palladium who gave his life to defend the object of his affections, the lovely Elladrial, at the time the disease from the north fell like tainted sunlight upon the fields of the Festival. However, if you could address the source of this malign influence, I would be in your debt. My trees know pain and sickness. The very air in these lands is now loathsome to take in. The curse is here. Perhaps you could examine the roots of Elddandor, accessible through the tunnel door beside me, and learn if the curse began there?' | ” |
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Your next step is to explore the small cave next to her. Using invis, go in and stay to the right at the first fork. Inch your way in, the objective will complete itself around location (2350, 2985, 299). At the end of that right fork, a red imp will spawn, named a blighted glog imp. Clear the couple little mobs in the way and pull it. It will drop six Idlegrime Spores. Loot yours and hand it to the Oracle. She will update the task and give the following speech:
| “ | Oracle of the Three Oaks says 'Ah, you say spores of this kidn were found in Elddandor's root system? I don't think that there is a connection. If this spore were responsible for the curse, it would still have lingering potency that would make it impossible for me to hold. As well, it is not the sort of spore that could have blown here from other lands. I am sorry, but the source of the curse must be elsewhere, though the spore itself may be useful to you.' | ” |
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Now head back and hail Vrald to complete another objective:
| “ | You say, 'Hail, Vrald'
Your task 'Vrald's Lost Brother' has been updated. Vrald says 'Well, good to see you're still in once piece. I've been choking back my anger since you've ben gone. No, my friend... not at you, not at you. It's the journal... I just noticed that there are pages missing, leaving a gap that should cover the time Wegar was traveling near the festival grounds, on his way south from the Three Oaks. It's possible that someone or something inside the festival groudns may still have these pages... in later entries, Wegar refers to a great zombie that once tore his journal. It's probably your best place to look... and be careful. There's a reason they don't have harvest festivals in these parts anymore. Thanks, I'll be waitin' right here.' | ” |
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[edit] Go to the Festival Grounds, kill Larwynn the Haunting for Wegar's Missing Pages, and bring them back to Vrald
The next step is to head to the festival grounds; they can be found south of the Three Oaks. Stay clear of the stage; Wirlem sits on the stage, a raid mob. Clearing some of the trash in the area is advisable, but not required; a skilled group could stay in a tight enough pack to avoid unnecessary aggro. The objective will update at approximate location (975, 1715, 23), and Larwynn the Haunting, a rather large zombie, will spawn right nearby. Kill him and loot Wegar's Missing Pages; he drops six. Take the Pages back to Vrald to complete the sixteenth objective, and the following speech:
| “ | Vrald says 'Ho, by the gods, these pages are fit for kindling... little more than paper rags held together with bloodstains and teeth marks. Hard enough to read Wegar's trembling chicken-scratch, without having zombie-bites taken out of it... Seems he nearly had the life scared out of him at the festival grounds, he writes of a terrible phantasmal spirit. There's something else here about an elvish lass named Elladrial whom Wegar was determined to rescue. The story's a strange one. Seems the elf woman turned out to be a spirit and Wegar fought a battle with phantoms. He was omrtally wounded and must have finally died trying to escape the spirits, not looking for the mine entrance as I'd thought. Go back up to the festival grounds and avenge my brother. I'm feelin' a mite glum for the way I treated 'im and and I'll honor his memory by sendin' a proud group of adventurers to deal with the spirits that ended him. I'd do it myself, but I want nothing to do with evil phantsom!' | ” |
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[edit] Kill the ghosts of Wegar and Elladrial, and procure Wegar's Last Words
Head back to the festival grounds. It's time to avenge Wegar's death...by killing Wegar`s Ghost. The ghost spawns in the large hut to the west of the stage (again, avoid Wirlem like the plague); around location (1030, 2055, 16). A good place to set up camp is far to the east side of the stage, behind the hut and a ways off. It is advisable to clear some of the trash in the area. It is also advisable (although less likely to be necessary) clear some of the trash inside the hut; a FD/Fade puller shouldn't have much trouble getting him out of there single, though. Killing him will complete the seventeenth objective, and open up the seventeenth: kill the ghost of Elladrial.
Elladrial appears to be another rather large zombie, and she spawns in the same hut that Wegar's ghost did; but a little closer to the doorway. Again, though, a skilled puller shouldn't have any trouble pulling her out single. She hits harder than Wegar's ghost did, but she really isn't that difficult. Once she dies, loot Wegar's Last Words; the eighteenth and nineteenth objectives will be completed, and there will only be one thing left to do....
[edit] Deliver Wegar's Last Words to Vrald
Take Wegar's final journal entry back to Vrald, and hand it to him. It will complete the task, and inspire him to give one final speech:
| “ | Your task 'Vrald's Lost Brother' has been updated.
Vrald is pleased! You have proven to him that his brother Wegar was not quite as useless as he might have thought. Wegar's honorable death not only helped to expose the Phantom menacing the old festival grounds, but also allowed Vrald to inherit his mine... if he can ever find it. Vrald says 'There! Now that wasn't that hard, was it! Poor Wegar, the rascal fell in love with that corrupted Elf woman's spirit. As good as your word, you are. My brother's fate is known, I've avenged his death, I've taken over the claim to his mining interests, and I've edited his journal to keep my own name clean... yes, it has been a good venture. I suppose you'll be wanting a reward of some kind to keep your mouths shut o the monster-hunters about our modest accomplishments.' You have successfully been granted your reward for: Vrald's Lost Brother | ” |
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The experience gained at the end of this task is worth roughly 2AAs at level 80, or 13% regular experience at level 72.
[edit] Credits
Special thanks to:
- Trebla of The Seventh Hammer (Lanys T`vyl)
- Aandy of The Seventh Hammer (Lanys T`vyl)
- And of course, everybody in this quest's thread at Monkly-Business
