Isin Dule's Spire

Difficulty:  Minimum to survive
Level Restriction:  90+(?), must be flagged for Caul
Timer:  13 Days
Can be Solo'd?  No(?)
Rewards:  Shield of Isin Dule or XP

As Grael's forces rose from their resting places, Isin Dule raised a Shadow Spire on the Caul.  His exact motivation was unclear - perhaps he was trying to watch over Black Ferah's stronghold in the Caul or perhaps he was simply trying to defend himself.  Either way, the spire didn't pose a real threat to Dereth, but many Isparians viewed it as evil and worth attacking.  You can still join in the fight by defeating the shadowy leaders commanding the Spire.

Step 1:  Preparation.  You must be flagged to visit Singularity Caul if you want to do this quest.  It would also be helpful if you had Caul Recall too, but that isn't necessary.  If you don't have Caul Recall, you will need to get to the Caul by running to the Caul portal inside Singularity Bore.  You will be fighting mostly shadows on this quest, although a stray Margul or other Caul critter might join the battle.  Shadowfire Isparian weapons and Fire Renders are your best bet for weapons.  You will also need a good sized group for this quest, mostly because of the number of high level, high health monsters you will be fighting.  Ranged characters are a must to defeat the boss.  It might also be a good idea to turn your graphics down before you start out, as the battle up the Spire can get quite laggy.

Step 2  The Run.  When you are ready, have your group gather at the Caul drop point.  Buff up for a run through the Caul - that means all protects and banes.  Buff a fire render and have your Shadowfire weapon on hand if you have one.  When your group is ready, begin the run.  If you don't know your way around the Caul, you will have an unpleasant time because the most direct route to anywhere on the island involves lots of twists and turns.  From the drop, run north until you find a ramp leading down and to the east.  Follow it and stay in the valley.  You are looking for a narrow crack in the walls at approximately 96.2S, 92.8W.  Go through it and take a quick left into another valley.  Follow this until you the valley widens and turns off to the east.  Follow the eastern valley until you reach approximately 94.5S, 91.8W, where you will see a valley leading off to the north.  Follow this valley.  If you stay in this valley, you should reach the Spire without any difficulty.  It is located at 92S, 93W, is just to your left as you run through the valley.  Make sure you stop your team well away from the spawn underneath the Spire - make sure no one fights or you could ruin the quest.  When everyone arrives, you can start to attack the Shadows underneath the Spire.  After you clear several waves of Shadows, a portal will appear beneath the Spire - make sure you stop fighting and get into the portal when it appears!

Step 3:  The Spire.  The Spire dungeon itself is very simple but can be very dangerous.  Basically you will be running up a very long spiral staircase.  There will be plenty of Shadows to slow you down, but you won't fight more than 2 or 3 at a time, so it isn't particularly difficult.  For some reason, the dungeon is very laggy and you can grind to a halt pretty easily if you have a low-end computer.  Keep an eye out for stragglers and disconnects.  When you reach the top, you will encounter Captain Faalx.  He will summon a portal to the very top of the Spire when he dies, so make sure your team attacks his companions first so that anyone still going up the stairs will make the portal.  Go into the portal when everyone is at the top and prepare to fight the final boss, the Shadow Cyst.  This guy means business!  He is stationary, but his magic packs a punch.  Melees should not attack him under any circumstance because he can cast a lifebolt ring spell that can easily kill any melee if you unluckily take two hits from the spell.  Instead, melees should concentrate on the rest of the spawn while mages and archers take out the Cyst.  When the Cyst dies, open its corpse and have everyone grab a Boney Lump of Flesh, which works just like a key.  Then have everyone line up and have them use their Lumps on the Fleshy Trove.  Inside is the Shield of Isin Dule, a piece of lore, and some random loot.  Be sure to clean out the chest for the next person.  You may need to kill the Cyst more than once, depending on the size of your group.

Step 4:  Rewards.  The Shield of Isin Dule has a Magic Absorbing property AND armor level!  The amount of magic the shield absorbs isn't as much as an Aegis, but because it has AL, it's useful in more situations.  If you don't want the shield, take it to Salkin Killcrane for a little bit of XP.  The lore from the chest goes to Bretself in Cragstone's library.