Gareth Dain

Difficulty:  Minimum to survive, 100+ to solo
Level Restriction:  60+ 
Timer:  ???
Can be Solo'd?  Yes, with Lockpick
Rewards:  Staff of Coersion or Polestar

Gareth Dain is missing!  He left his wife in Candeth Keep to explore a newly discovered Sclavus Temple to the west and never returned.  Head into the Temple and see what has become of him.  Then you will have to make a tough decision...

Step 1 (Optional):  Visit Dain's Wife and Friend at 87.2S, 67.5W.  Talira Dain and Dalius Kendmar live in Candeth Keep and will ask a favor of you.  Talira wants you to save her husband from the Temple he discovered.  Dalius is quite sure that Gareth is already dead and asks you to bring him proof to show to Talira.  You can only choose one path and each will reward you differently. 

Step 2:  Sclavus Temple.  Before you start your trip, buff up.  You will be fighting Sclavus Lords, so you will need to protect against everything.  Characters without melee defense should bane everything too.  Follow Talira or Dalius's advice and head to the west to 82.5S, 75W.  The temple itself is located in a newly-unearthed city.  Head in the portal and you will immediately be attacked.  There are four paths leading out of the first room, all of which lead down.  Pick one and head down to the next level.  Fight your way to the west and you will find a ramp down.  Take an immediate right as you head down the ramp you just found.  The rest of the dungeon is a series of small crypt-like rooms filled with many Sclavus Lords.  After a few rooms, you will find a 'Strange Sclavus' to whom you can talk.  You'll discover that it is in fact Gareth!  Kill him and put him out of his misery or leave him alone - your choice.  Move on and you will come to a room with two exits.  Take the east path and you will continue to wind through literally dozens of crypt rooms.  Eventually (after quite some time), you will come to a locked door.  Pick it and you will enter a room with two exits.  If you want the Polestar, take the west exit.  Take the south path if you want the Staff of Coersion.  You can only get one item per person, but if you have a diverse group, you probably want to go both ways.  Let's head west for the Polestar first.

The path you follow will quickly turn around, head up a ramp, and to a locked door.  Pick it and you will see an exit portal.  Don't take it!  There are two paths out of this room (north and south).  Both lead to the same place, so pick one and head to another locked door.  Pick it and you will find a torch on the wall.  It's actually a lever, so hit it and a door will open.  Head through and at the very end of the corridor, you will find a Book of Memories.  It details the horrors that Gareth suffered.  Make sure everyone who wants the Polestar has the book.  If no one in your group wants the Staff of Coersion, you can leave.  If not, head back the way you came.

Back in the previous room, take the south path, down a ramp to a locked door.  Kill as many Sclavus Lords through the door that you can, then pick it and finish the job.  On the far side of the room, you will find a Crypt.  The Crypt can take a lot of punishment.  When it is destroyed, you will be ambushed by an army of Sclavus Lords and a Falatacot Priestess - Sister Vitriaka.  Kill the monsters and check the Sister's corpse for a scrap of paper.  Only one person needs the paper, but that person will have the job of opening a hidden door in the crypt room.  There are four raised parts of the room - head to the northwest part and find a torch on the south wall.  Hit it and a hidden door will open on the east wall of the room.  Get through quickly and you will head up a spiral staircase to a small room.  On the floor is a Falatacot Tome.  Everyone who wants the Staff of Coersion will need to pick up a copy.  Now you are done.  On a side note, this temple is a very good place to hunt!  The experience is very good, as is the loot.

Step 3:  Rewards.  You have two options.  You can either give the Book of Memories to Talira for the Polestar or you can have the Falatacot Tome translated by Fanzen San in Hebian To and then give the translated book to Dalius for the Staff of Coersion.  Both are good-looking items, but neither is really all that useful.