Mukkir Aspect of Grael

Difficulty:  Minimum to Survive
Level Restriction:  151+
Timer:  27 Days
Can be Solo'd?  No
Rewards:  Mukkir Slayer gem, Black Spear of Mukkir Strength housing item, Slayer of the Black Spear title, a random rare, XP

Grael split into three forms thanks to the actions of brave adventurers, but those three forms need constant attention to keep them contained.  Grael's Mukkir aspect is the most dangerous and only the strongest can keep him imprisoned.  The quest is long and dangerous, but the rewards are outstanding.

Step 1:  Preparation.  This quest will take you about 2 hours to complete on average and requires a strong fellowship.  I wouldn't try the quest with less than 6 people, but there's no harm in having more than one fellowship for this quest.  You will also need to grab a couple of portals - Obsidian Rim and VoD hotdrop.  Obsidian Rim is easy to get - just Caul Recall and look behind you.  VoD hotdrop is not as easy to come by.  There is a portal at the very end of Xarabydun, but you need to be below level 25 to get there.  You could also try the surface portal to Hidden Caverns, which is only marginally easier to get.  If you are lucky, you'll find the portal on a portal bot somewhere and tie to that.  You will need a ride to Ayan when the quest is over, but that's much easier to acquire and can wait until after the quest.

Step 2:  Experimental Shadow Stone.  Gather your team and summon the Obsidian Rim portal.  Don't buff yet - you are all high enough in level to be able to survive the run.  Now head to 44.4S 62.5W.  Lead the way - you want to go east first and then north.  If you try to take the most direct route, you will end up in the Valley of Death and people will either get lost or die.  When you arrive,  you will find a Shadow NPC in a blackened region of the landscape.  Line up and talk to her(?).  She will ask you to find an Experimental Shadow Stone inside a shadow stronghold north of her, just outside the VoD.  Again, you do not need to buff yet.  Head to the coords she gives you, 39.1S 60.1W, and go in.  When you arrive, buff up.  You will be fighting Shadows, Mukkirs, and Ruschk, so you will need all protects, all banes, and bludgeoning or fire weapons.  Melees, be sure to fully bane your shields for this quest.

Step 3:  Black Ferah's Vault.  When everyone is done buffing, you are ready to retrieve that Shadow Stone.  This dungeon is nice and linear for the most part, but make sure people don't run ahead.  There's a nasty surprise waiting for you at the end.  Make your way straight ahead until you reach a pit.  Jump down and clear, then head south and east.  Once you find a ramp leading down, take it turn right.  From here on, there aren't any major twists or turns and all the dead ends are readily apparent.  When you reach a section of the dungeon where the hallways become wide and blocky, slow down - you are near the end.  You will know you are there when you reach a T intersection on a down ramp.  Go either way, but when the paths recombine, stop.  To the south is a large room with the boss of the dungeon, the twisted form of Jared Kurth.  He is still wielding his human-slaying sword, so keep your distance - he can wipe pretty much anyone out in a shot or two.  Mages and archers should target him from afar, as he is too big to fight through the passageway into the hall where you are.  When he dies, loot his corpse for a key and then use that key on the locked door on the far side of the room.  Follow the corridor and you will reach the Shadow Stone.  It is lying on an altar and for some reason the only way to pick it up is to jump on top of the altar.  When everyone has their stone, summon the Obsidian Rim portal again - there's no need to try to hit the portal in Jared's room.

Step 4:  Flagging for Grael.  When everyone arrives, run back to the Shadow NPC (44.4S 62.5W), line up, and hand in the shadow stone, which will flag you to enter Grael's temple.  When everyone has turned in their stone, summon the VoD hot drop portal.  The dungeon you want is located due W of the drop, at 37.2S 67W, but it is located inside a crater in the middle of a hill.  I prefer to get to the dungeon by heading west until you reach the impassible rock wall, then turning north.  Hug the left wall until you find a passage up on the north face of the hill.  When you make it to the top, you should be able to look down into the crater.  The crater is protected by a small army of Ruschk, but you won't need to kill them - just jump into the crater and run to the portal, which is at the south end.  When everyone arrives, you should rebuff using the same buffs as before.

Step 5:  Mukkir-infested Black Spear Temple.  If people are going to die on this quest, it will be in this dungeon and nowhere else.  There are two reasons for death - falling rocks and trap spawns.  Both are unavoidable, but if you are smart about it, you shouldn't have any casualties.  When everyone is buffed, head down the ramp and hug the right wall.  After killing a couple monsters, you will reach the Falling Rocks.  Hopefully no one is running ahead, or you may need to do a corpse recovery already.  The falling rock room is L shaped and the safest way through is to hug the left wall.  There are only two real danger points of you hug the outer wall - the entrance and the exit.  Watch the rocks falling at the entry to get the timing down and then as soon as the rock between you and the left wall falls, run over and don't stop until you reach the end of the L.  Now you can take a quick break.  Again, try to get the timing of the last rock before the exit and then make a dash to the far side.  It is possible to survive a rock hit if you have enough health, but don't count on it.  The rocks can do anywhere from 200 to 400 damage.  If you are feeling less than lucky, you can use a bludgeon protect rare and leisurely stroll through the rocks.  That's pretty much the only way to recover corpses in this region too, incidentally.  If people die in the rocks, they can still catch up to you.  Have them portal recall and then run back to the dungeon.  After the rocks though, it's pretty much impossible for someone to catch back up to the group.  Once everyone is through, it's time to worry about the trap spawns.  Hug the left wall and I do mean that literally - you can avoid some of the trap spawns by having everyone stick very close to the walls.  The important thing to let your group know in this region is that if anyone hits a trap spawn, it is absolutely essential that everyone in the group get past the trap before turning to fight.  If you fight in front of the trap, you will just end up triggering it over and over again.  The worst trap for this problem is located on the map below and to the left of ramp 2.  It's pretty much impossible to avoid this trap, but make sure everyone gets into the big room before they fight.  Once you get past ramp 3, you shouldn't run into any more trap spawns, but you will find several monsters not associated with traps.  You will also find an annoying maze.  When you reach the first four-way intersection after the trap spawns, hug the right wall.  It's a little circuitous, but you will find the path you want.  You will know you've followed the path when you reach a large pit room with big, black spears along the walls.  You're home free now.  All you need to do is make a full power jump straight ahead toward the spear.  Then turn around and make another full power jump.  Wait for everyone to make the jump.  If for some reason (and there really shouldn't be a reason) someone misses, get a couple people to jump down with you and follow the corridor back up to the jump.  Once everyone has made the jumps, follow the exit to the portal to Grael's Chamber.

Step 6:  Grael.  Grael isn't a picnic, but compared to the rest of the quest, he's not hard.  Depending on how much time it took you to get through the previous section and how many fellowships you have, it might be wise to rebuff.  While you are doing that, let everyone know that if they die, they can rejoin the group.  Remember the drop into the Temple?  There was a second portal you couldn't use.  If anyone dies, tell them to portal recall, get back into the Temple, and take that portal.  They will end up right back in the Grael fight.  When everyone is ready, it's time for the fight.  Run to a ledge overlooking Grael's room.  If you're lucky, your mages might be able to target Grael and debuff him from the ledge.  He's weakest to physical damage, especially coming from a Mukkir slaying weapon.  Mages would do well to Tusker Fist.  Watch out for his dispels.  When he dies, loot his corpse.  Everyone will want to grab a spear and a key.  If you have multiple fellowships, you will need to kill him more than once.  When everyone has both the key and spear, go into the portal at the far end of Grael's room.

Step 7:  Rewards.  The portal in Grael's room leads to a room with many Black Marrow Reliquaries.  Unlike the usual chests, these will always spawn a rare.  Use your key and clean out the chest.  Once everyone is done, summon the Obsidian Rim portal again and head back to the Shadow NPC.  Line up and hand her your spear.  You will receive three things - XP (something like 7.5% of your level), the Black Spear of Mukkir Strength housing item, and a token.  The housing item casts 5 very useful spells on you - 3 Incantation spells that increase your strength, coord, and focus by 45 points for 2 hours and 2 spells that add 4% to your equipped weapon's attack and defense mod.  The only downside is that you can only use the spear every 20 hours.  If you don't want the housing item, you can turn it in for XP too (2% of your level or so).  Now head to Ayan.  Look for a tent north of Ulgrim's bar where you will find 3 NPCs.  Read the token the Shadow gave you and give it to the appropriate NPC.  You will receive additional XP (the same as last time), a title (Slayer of the Black Spear), and a Mukkir Slayer gem.  That gem can be added to any loot-generated weapon to add a Mukkir Slayer effect.  The only limitation is that you cannot add it to a weapon that already has a Lucky Rabbit's Foot, Fetish of Dark Idols, or Undead Slayer effect added.  I suggest using it on your favorite physical rending weapon first, then considering AR, CS, or CB later.  I'm particularly happy with my CB wand - my current record on Dark Isle Mukkirs is over 6,000 points in one shot.