Quest:Heir to the Flame

Heir to the Flame (AG)

Location:	Blade Square, in Trithik.
Description:	"I come seeking your help," says the elderly man seated across from you, his thin face only just visible through the gloom that fills the interior of the coach. "My name is Aurulnir Baleward, and I seek to restore my line to the stewardship of Fogbough..."
Requirements:	Completed the following: The Runeskin Saga Finished all quests and explorations in Ashlyre Discovered all instances of Baleward in Fogbough Forest
Saga:	March of the Oakaruk
Difficulty:	Most difficult required battle is 9+ at MR 125.

This quest gives a chance to earn xp to all skills and powers.

This quest gives a chance to earn Adventurer Tokens.

General Information[]

This quest can be considered a precursor to a couple quests that involve Castle Baleward, a noted location in Fogbough Forest. The Balewards have been long held the stewardship of Fogbough Forest, driving back the dark forces pervading the forest until their line was broken by a curse. Aurulnir Baleward approaches you one day for help in restoring the position for Tarynia Baleward, the heiress. You are tasked with clearing the castle of its curse.

Tips[]

Be sure to equip The Baleward Seal before crossing the draw bridge of the Fogshrouded Castle.
Keep The Baleward Seal equipped at all times inside the castle, as enemy to-hit becomes significantly higher without it equipped.
Sitting on the throne in the Grand Hall multiple times will give you a nice exp reward.
Using Thievery on the Shattered Statue in the Grand Hall of the Castle can yield a nice reward.
It is preferable to have Elementalism (70+), as the XP rewards are greater for using it in place of the Enchanted Torch when used to light the beacons.
Fleeing from the Mistwraith and re-engaging it in the final battle yields more combat XP than defeating it in one battle.

Prerequisites[]

All quests in the Runeskin Saga.
Attack on Ashlyre
- The Wayward Wagons

In addition, all special encounters while EXPLORING Ashlyre are required.
Fogbough Outer Wood special events and noted locations related to Baleward:

Walkthrough[]

To begin the quest, go to Blade Square in Trithik. The introduction is mostly story, setting the scene.

Meeting Aurulnir[]

When Aurulnir seeks to consult you, you can use Divination (40+)/Thievery (40+), and you choose between the following:

Follow Aurulnir to the coach...
Demand to know more about the task...

No matter which choice you make, you end up following him to the coach. He will ask for your help to re-establish the stewardship of the Balewards in Fogbough Forest, in particular, for his granddaughter Tarynia.

In order to destroy the enchantments on the castle, you will need to light the beacons in the 4 towers. To aid you in your task, Aurulnir will give you:

He also warns you of a Mistwraith that haunts the halls of the castle.

To continue with the adventure, head to Fogbough Forest, The Outer Woods.

Fogbough Forest[]

When you first arrive in Fogbough Forest, you will meet Rulbyr of Asphyr, one of the members of the Grey Circle who warns you that there are some within the circle plotting against you. You are then reminded of your encounters with Tirimey in Ashlyre, and told that he works under Gilnoras of Syr, and you are then given a Furled Note that Rulbyr filched from Gilnoras' study. It is implied that Gilnoras is consorting with someone that already has history with you.

After the encounter, you will have to return to A Fog Shrouded Castle, one of the marked locations, where the quest will take place. It is advised that you save the game before entering the castle, as once inside, you will not have the choice to leave at will.

Tip: Equip The Baleward Seal before crossing the draw bridge. If you do not have the ring equipped, you will lose a large amount of SP (51-86 observed). Even after crossing the draw bridge, keeping the ring equipped is a good idea, because enemy difficulty is much higher without wearing the ring.

Afterwards, you will enter the Grand Hall of the castle.

Baleward Castle - Grand Hall[]

Once inside the grand hall, you will see the following options:

Examine the oaken seat...
- If you sit on the seat 5 times, you will get 128 XP to AS&P on the 5th time. If you lost SP from the drawbridge, sitting in the throne will also heal your SP to full.
Examine the shattered statue...
- If you use Thievery (level 30), you will find 4 Adventurer Tokens
Leave the hall via the northwest passage...
Leave the hall via the northeast passage...
Leave the hall via the southwest passage...
Leave the hall via the southeast passage...

Lighting the Four Towers[]

In each passage leading to a tower, when you attempt to climb up the stairs, your way will be blocked by a magically-fortified door. You will need to defeat each door in order to enter the tower.

Note: Be sure you have The Baleward Seal equipped. If you are not wearing it, the doors will be 9+ at MR 175.

Magically-Fortified Door (9+ at MR 100 ^Exact, 500 SP, 76+ XP), immune to mundane weapons, can resist some powers, has a fairly strong anti-magic aura. You can flee from combat any time, but the door will be "fully healed" like most enemies when you re-engage in combat.

Once inside the tower, you will find an engraved iron bowl, where the flame is to be lit. You can USE either the Enchanted Torch giving to you by Aurulnir (for 16 General XP), OR Elementalism (70+) for 24 XP to that power (there is no hint here, it was in the the quest introduction). In addition to successfully lighting the torch, you will also get 128 General XP. Even if your use of Elementalism fails, the fire will still be lit! You will simply not have the 24 XP to Elementalism, but will still get the 128 General XP for lighting the beacon. Once all 4 beacons are lit, you will be awarded an additional 128 to general experience.

The Mist in the Hall[]

There is also text in red about the status of the mist in the hall, which will vary depending on how many beacons you have lighted.

Lit Beacons	Mist Description
0	A thin veil of mist swirls and eddies across the floor of the hall.
1	A knee-high blanket of fog obscures the floor of the hall.
2	A waist-high river of fog has begun to swirl through the hall.
3	A deep, churning sea of fog has begun to fill the hall.

Once you have lit the 4th beacon, the Mist Wraith will emerge from the mist, and you will be given the following choices:

Attempt to flee from the chamber... - Roll: (1-100) + (Bonus: Agility + Luck), you need 75+ to succeed.
- Success: You reach the stairs safely.
- Failure: lose some Stamina (24-32 SP observed)
Hold your ground and engage the mistwraith... - It will toss a bolt of lightning at you, in which you will need to Roll: (1-100) + (Bonus: Agility + Luck), with 75+ needed to succeed.
- Success: You safely dodge the bolt, and will still have to flee from the chamber as above
- Failure: lose some Stamina (24-27 SP observed)

Afterwards, the ground collapses beneath you, and you will find yourself in a chamber beneath the castle. Despite the story saying that you land badly, this has no damage.

Baleward Castle - Underground[]

In order to escape from the underground lair, you must break the enchantment on the door at the end of the hall by using The Baleward Seal on each of the square indents on the iron plaques in the alcoves. Along the way, you will also encounter an image of Rulbyr who will warn you that he's been discovered, and the apparition of an old man who claims that he can help you once you escape into the forest.

Marked Locations[]

E: Entrance (no exit)
A: Alcove with an iron plaque bearing a square impression
1: Image of Rulbyr (story-related)
2: Apparition of an old man (story-related)
3: A Massive Stone Door - the door can only be crossed after USING The Baleward Seal on all the iron plaques in the alcoves.

Random Encounters[]

At times, an Energized Wall will randomly appear in the hallway, and in order to get across, you will have to defeat it.

Wearing the Baleward Seal:

Energized Wall (9+ at MR 75 ^Exact, 450-460 SP, 10+ XP), immune to mundane weapons, can resist some powers, may prevent the use of powers, has an attack that emits blue, silver, white, green, or red energy.
If you are not wearing the ring, the wall becomes 9+ at MR 125.

The mist creatures you can randomly encounter have variable MR and SP (~9+ at MR 80-90 with the ring equipped, up to 9+ at MR 112 without it equipped), and ~220-280 SP. All Mist Creatures are immune to mundane weapons, and can resist some powers, but they do not appear to have an anti-magic aura, unlike the Energized Walls. The skeleton was observed to drain your SP with an occasional special attack, and others may be presumed to recover health this way. This is a list of observed Mist Creatures:

Mist Troll
Mist Ogre
Mist Skeleton, 8 XP
Mist Spider
Mist Serpent, 7 XP

Text Directions[]

From the Entrance:

West, North (Alcove - use ring)
2 South, 2 West, 4 North (Alcove)
South, West (Alcove)
East, 2 South, 2 West, South (Rulbyr)
2 West, 2 North (old man)
East, 2 North, East (Alcove)
West, 2 South, 3 West, 2 South (Alcove)
North, West (Alcove)
East, 3 North, West (Door - Exit)

The Mistwraith[]

Note: You should have the ring equipped in all battles, and will probably realize this by now. If you don't have the ring equipped, the Mist Wolves are 9+ at MR 125, and the Mistwraith becomes 18+ at MR 204!

Once you attempt to cross the door, you're immediately engaged by 2 Mist Wolves:

Mist Wolf (1 of 2) (9+ at MR 85 ^Exact, 200 SP, 73+ XP), can't ~~FLEE~~, immune to mundane weapons, can resist some powers
Mist Wolf (2 of 2) (9+ at MR 85 ^Exact, 200 SP, 73+ XP), can't ~~FLEE~~, immune to mundane weapons, can resist some powers

After defeating both Mist Wolves, the Mistwraith will summon a thick stream of dark grey mist. Random check (1-100* 1 + Spirit * 0.50). 75 or more needed to pass. no damage if you pass. 18-25 damage if you don't pass. If you survive the mist you will finally battle the Mistwraith.

The Mistwraith (9+ at MR 125 ^Exact, 4000 SP, variable XP), infrequently drains you SP, presumably recovering health, can flee immediately (no attack needed), immune to mundane weapons, can resist some powers, It is advised that you flee at least once

If you managed to defeat the Mistwraith in one battle without fleeing, you actually get LESS combat XP than if you did flee and re-engage in combat. Also, if you flee from combat, the old man you met earlier will heal you (45-90 SP observed) if your SP falls below ~95 SP. The damage the Mistwraith takes is cumulative, so if you flee the battle, the it's SP will remain what it was before you fled.

You will get ~13 combat exp if you defeated the Mistwraith without fleeing; if you did flee, you will get 138+ combat exp in addition to the 2048 general experience rewarded. If you flee, any powers you use before you flee will not be in the combat XP breakdown.

After defeating the Mistwraith, you will meet Umdurol Baleward, and receive A Glowing Letter from him. Upon your return to Trithik, after relaying the events to Aurulnir, he will take the Glowing Letter, the Baleward Seal, and the Enchanted Torch from you and give you Wisp Of Black Mist. Then you will receive your final rewards for completing the quest.

Rewards[]

4 XP to Divination (40+)/Thievery (40+) when used on Aurulnir

In the Grand Hall:

128 XP to AS&P if you sat on the throne five times.
8 XP to Thievery and 4 Adventurer Tokens when successfully used at the shattered statue.

In each of the four towers:

~65 combat XP and 128 General XP for defeating each Magically-Fortified Door
16 General XP for using the Enchanted Torch, OR
24 XP to Elementalism (70+), if successfully used
128 General XP for successfully lighting each iron bowl.

Once all four beacons are lit:

128 General XP

While Underground:

16 General XP when The Baleward Seal is used on each of the iron plaques in the small alcoves.

For defeating the Mist Wolves:

~65 combat XP per wolf.

For defeating the Mist Wraith:

~13 combat XP if you did not flee at all.
~129 combat XP if you did flee and re-engage in combat
2048 General XP

Upon Completion: