Tracking Asheron

Tracking Asheron - Bur

Difficulty: Minimum to survive, 40+ / 100+ to solo
Level Restriction: Two Quests - <80 and 80+
Timer: 13 Days,
Can be Solo'd? Yes - See Below for Specifics
Rewards: XP, Flagging for Bur

Asheron went missing shortly before Grael's reawakening and has been missing ever since. Several groups are trying to find where he went, including a very dangerous sect of the Falatacot. If you want to help, you will need to prove you are friendly with Asheron's allies.

*NOTE!* There are two ways of flagging yourself to visit Bur and they depend on what level you are. The two are interrelated but can be done separately.

Quest 1 - The Ciphers (<80).

Step 1: Preparation. This quest is for all characters level 80 and below, but 80+ characters can go along for assistance. You will need to find a Wood Golem Heart in order to complete the first step of the quest. You will also need to get your low level character several portal rides. You will need to be able to get to Lytelthorpe, Wei Jhou, Ayan Baqur, Tou Tou, and Cragstone. A Subway tie would also be helpful. Note that there are new portals in Osteth that can be used to get you close to Ayan and Wei Jhou, but it is probably easier to get a ride from a higher level character.

Step 2: Dagger of Tikola. Given that I've already written a full guide to this quest, there really isn't much point in going over all that again - just check out the quest guide. The main difference between the old guide and the update is that the chest that holds the Dull Dagger now also holds an Ancient Shard of Metal. Grab the shard and exit the dungeon. Hand in the shard to Felscuda the Groundskeeper and if you are below level 80, you will receive a small amount of XP and a letter from Asheron.

Step 3: Halls of Metos. Your next job is to visit all three Halls of Metos. Begin by visiting the two Halls in the Direlands, located at 56S 89.2W and 61.3S 46.7W, which are near Ayan Baqur and Wei Jhou respectively. You can get through the whole dungeon without fighting if you want, but if you do intend to fight, buff a bludgeoning or slashing weapon. Protect against all damage types and bane against bludgeoning. Make your way through the Halls to the final Obsidian Golem room labeled LVL -6. You will find a stone table just in front of the pit holding a special mote. You will need to retrieve motes from both Direlands Halls of Metos and then take them to the Osteth Hall, which is located at 4.4S 0.6W, south of Midsong Settlement out of Al Jalima. Make your way to that same room and hand in both motes to the Masonry Golem NPC found in that room. He will reward you with XP for each mote and then give you a note after you turn in the second mote.

Step 4: Mountain Sewer. Now head for Tou Tou and then run to the dungeon, located at 29.8S 93.9E. You will be fighting lots of rats, Zefirs, and Undead, so buff a slashing or fire weapon and protect him against all damage types. Baning is probably unnecessary in here, especially if you have an escort. There are locked doors in this dungeon (as the map indicates), but you do not need LP to reach the end - the map is no longer accurate when it comes to which doors are locked and which are not. Head into the dungeon and make your way down and to the north until you reach a four-way intersection. Take the right turn and make your way downwards into a cluster of small rooms protected by Risen Soldiers and Knights, which are located on the map underneath the marking LVL -10. You will find a pile of glowing gems in a corner of one of the little rooms. Grab one and then head to Cragstone and visit Bretself the Translator. Hand him the gem and he will reward you with a C note, a final note from Asheron, and a little more XP. Now you have all the clues you need to complete the quest and you have been flagged to visit Bur.

Quest 2 - Breaking the Ciphers (80+)

Step 1: Preparation. There is a lot of running involved with this quest, but you can minimize it by tying a couple portals, which I will mention when you reach them. A Subway portal is probably all you need to begin your quest. If you don't want to rely on this guide to answer the puzzles, you will need the 3 ciphers from the <80 quest detailed above. You can complete the quest without them if you want to simply use this guide, but where's the fun in that?

Step 5: Eastern Vault. Grab the three notes you earned with your lowbie and head to Cragstone. Find Shan Zhen, an NPC located right outside the Smithy. Talk to him and he will ask you for help in tracking down Asheron. He'll direct you to Asheron's Servitor Golem, who lives at the top of a mountain near 67N 30E (E of Neydissa). You will be visiting this guy over and over again and the fastest way to get there is to go to Rithwic and find the Glystaene Cottages portal at 8.8N 60.9E. It might be a good idea to tie to this portal too. When you arrive, talk to the Golem. He'll ask you to bring an item to him - a necklace first. Head back to Shan Zhen to get directions to the East Realadain Vault. This first dungeon is located at 52.5 N, 38.9 E, which is close to the Mountain Keep Settlement out of Holtburg. It is a good idea for all of the dungeons you'll visit to go through the surface portal inside and then come back in. The outside portal isn't tieable or recallable, but the surface portal is. If you meet an untimely demise or need to get back quickly, you won't need to run again. Inside you'll find another NPC Golem. He's damaged though and will need to be repaired. Time to buff up - you will be fighting Sclavi and Falatacot. Your best bet is a slashing weapon. Be sure to protect against all damage types, as you will be vulned and warred by pretty much everything. You can safely get away with baning against slashing damage. When you are buffed, talk to the Golem and then fight your way through the dungeon - it's fairly linear. At the very end you will find a Falatacot boss named Karkuul the Defiler. He's in the style of the Blackmire 3 Falatacot, so he'll stick out like a sore thumb. Kill him and loot a special mote from his corpse. Return it to the Golem and he will give you another note. Inside the note is a cipher and instructions on how to decode it. Use the long number in the note from Felscuda to decode it. The decoded cipher will provide you with a description of the correct necklace. If you really, really want to know which necklace is correct without doing the puzzling, then copy and paste the next section to enlarge the message: EMERALD CROWN. You can test to make sure you have the right necklace by showing it to the Golem. If it is correct, he will direct you to bring it to the Servitor Golem back near Neydissa. If you chose the wrong necklace, you will have to wait 30 minutes before you can pick up another one. Now head back to the Servitor Golem and hand in the necklace. If you chose the right one, he will reward you with 6.8M XP and tell you to bring him a special ring.

Step 6: Northern Vault. Visit Shan Zhen in Cragstone once again to get directions and flagging to the Northern Realadain Vault, which is located at 75.7N 3.7E. Unfortunately, this dungeon is in the middle of nowhere and not really near any useful settlement. The closest settlement is Frosty Dale out of Crater. That's not very convenient if you can't get to Crater easily. Your best bet might be to just run from Neydisa Castle. When you arrive, make your way to the Golem and Ring room, which isn't hard to find at all. Talk to the Golem and rebuff if necessary. You will again be fighting Sclavi and Falatacot, but the mix is a bit more difficult this time. The dungeon is fairly linear here as well, but you might run into a dead end. If that happens, just backtrack and take the other possible passage. At the end is another Blackmire three style Falatacot named Vizidh the Despoiler. Dispatch him and grab the mote from his corpse. Return to the Golem and turn in the mote to repair him. You will receive the second cipher in exchange for the mote. Use the long number in the Metos Golem's note to decipher the clue and then look for the ring with the correct description. That description is (copy/paste if you want to know!): AMETHYST SWORD. Verify your choice by showing it to the Golem and if it is correct, return to the Servitor Golem. He will reward you with another 6.8M and ask you for a third item, a goblet.

Step 7: Western Vault. Head back to Cragstone and talk to Shan Zhen once more. He will give you directions (and again flag you) to the Western Realadain Vault, which is south of Stonehold at 58.0N 20.8W. You have two choices on how to get here - you can either get to Stonehold (fastest way is through Umbral Halls outside of Kryst) and run south or you can go to Eastham and find the Asandra Cottages settlement at 17.5N 61.6E and then run from there. There probably isn't much difference in distance if you can't get to Eastham easily. Once you arrive at the dungeon, find the Golem in the Goblet room. This one is damage too - talk to him and he will ask you for to retrieve his mote from Haisanix the Destroyer. Be sure to rebuff if your buffs are running low - this dungeon is actually fairly difficult because of the combination of vulns from the Falatacot and the VII war from the Sclavi. The dungeon is also larger and a bit easier to get lost inside. Just make sure you aren't backtracking and you will eventually find the boss. Kill him and grab the mote from his corpse, then head back to the Golem (if you exited and re-entered the dungeon to soft-tie to it, recalling would be a good idea). Hand in the mote and receive Asheron's third cipher. Decode it using the long number in the note from Mountain Sewer to get the description of the correct goblet. That description is: DIAMOND LEAVES. Verify it with the Golem and then head for the Servitor Golem. Hand in the goblet for another 6.8M XP and a journal from Asheron telling you where he's been.

Step 8: Rewards. At this point, you've earned three 6.8M XP rewards and a nice piece of lore from Asheron. Return the lore to Shan Zhen in Cragstone for another 6.8M XP. Once you have returned the note, you will be flagged to visit Bur. You will find the portal to Bur on the platform where the Servitor Golem is.