Holtburg Explorer Society Quests

     If you have just left the Holtburg Training Academy, you may be wondering to yourself “Well, what the heck do I do now?”  The Dereth Explorer Society has got you covered, assigning work for Isparians new to Dereth to help them become acclimatized to their new surroundings.  In Holtburg the Society Agent, Flinrala Ryndmad, can be found in the tavern to the north of the lifestone at 42.2N x 33.6E.  Flinrala is hanging out along the north wall of the tavern with her childhood friend Worcer. 

Worcer and the Holtburg Memorial (Recommended level - 4)

     While Flinrala does not directly give you any work, she will direct you to the people who need help.  Worcer, for instance, is in need of a little assistance. When Worcer and Flinrala were children, Holtburg was sacked by the Hea.  Most of the children were safely spirited away to the Holtburg Redoubt, but many of the adults died defending the town.  The survivors have been putting together a memorial and Worcer wants you to retrieve some family heirlooms from the now drudge infested halls of the Redoubt.  He will give you a list of eight items and directions to the Redoubt, which lies to the south and somewhat east of the tavern at 40.4N x 34.5E.

     The Redoubt is not all that dangerous for those recently leaving the Training Academy.  It is entirely populated by drudges, which are not the most dangerous of Dereth’s denizens.  Inside The Redoubt you will encounter:

Drudge Sulkers (lvl 4)

Drudge Slinkers (lvl 5)

Drudge Prowlers (lvl 7)

While in the dungeon, you may want to keep an eye out for drudge charms.  These can be found on many drudges and can be given to the trophy collector in Holtburg for a small reward. 

     Once inside The Redoubt, finding the items on the list is rather simple.  However, you will be beset by drudges almost constantly through the first couple levels.  The first item is not far from the entry chamber.  Head west through the doors, turn north and through another set of doors.  The Bronze Candlestick is located in this room.

     Now head west into another room with a set of doorways.  Head to the north and take the last corridor on the left (west).  This will take you down to another room with a partially open floor.  Upon entering this room several drudges will run in from the east to attack you.  Once you have fought them off, head to the south into another corridor which leads down.  At the base of the ramp there will be a door on your right (north).  Inside is a set of three small rooms, guarded by a few more drudges.  In one of these rooms you will find the Antique Bowl.

     Backtrack to the corridor and continue to the west.  Very soon, to the south, you will find another set of doors leading to the bunkrooms.  In the first bunkroom, behind one of the beds, is the Antique Platter.  Continue down the corridor through the first bunkroom to the second bunkroom.  Behind a bed in the second bunkroom you will find the Bronze Lamp.

     Continue down the corridor out of the bunkrooms to the west and you will find yourself in a rather large room with a pit.  Circumvent the pit and head to the west side of the room, where you will find a storage room to the west and a bunkroom to the south.  The Bronze Bell can be found in the storage room and the Wedding Ring is located in a chest in the bunkroom. 

     From the bunkroom, go through the doors to the south and follow this corridor down again.  The next passage on your right (west) is the quarters of Brogord Ryndmad, Flinrala’s father.  Inside this room you can find the Antique Mug. 

     Go back out to the corridor and continue to the east.  This will take you through a few twists and a prison cell, eventually leading you to a room with a few drudges and a Drudge Prowler.  Be cautious when you attack, as yet another drudge or two will jump down from the room above when you enter.  After fighting off all the drudges you can find the Antique Goblet at the far end of the room. 

     That should be all eight of the items Worcer wanted you to recover.  Now you can either run back out of The Redoubt or lifestone recall back to Holtburg.  Worcer will reward you with 3,000 XP for each of the items you give to him.  He will then ask you to do him another little favor.

Brogord’s Axe (Recommended level – 8)

     Worcer is a bit worried about his friend Flinrala.  Both of them lost their parents in the attack on Holtburg, but Flinrala seems to still need closure.  Worcer has heard that one of Brogord’s axes can be found in the Cave of Alabree.  Worcer thinks that it would make Flinrala feel a whole lot better if she had something with which to remember her father.  The Cave of Alabree can be found by heading down the west road out of Holtburg to 41.8N x 32.0E. 

     The Cave of Alabree is quite a bit more dangerous than the Redoubt.  You will be encountering packs of three to four shreth commonly through the cave.  The type of shreth you run into will be:

Blood Shreth (lvl 9)

Hunter Shreth (lvl 12)

Inside the cave there are a lot of corridors and dead ends, so if you get turned around it can be hard to regain your bearings.  If you get lost, place your hand on the right or left wall and follow it until you find something familiar.  The shreth in the cave are everywhere and have an increased spawn rate compared to The Redoubt drudges, so don’t stand around for too long in one place if you don’t have to.  Additional things to keep an eye out for include the Holtburg town stamp, in the entry chamber to the cave.  This is used with the Explorer Society Letters you will come across from time to time.  Also you may want to keep an eye out for little green seeds on the shreth, which can be traded for dye plants in the Swamp Gardens. 

     From the entry chamber in the cave, head to the south and take your second right (west).  Follow this corridor until you come to a cavern.  Head east out of the cavern and turn south at the next intersection.  You will find yourself in what appears to be a guard room.  On the floor is the Letter to Ryndya.  If you read it you will see Flinrala’s name mentioned.  While Worcer did not ask you to look for this, you should keep it anyways.  It will come in handy later. 

     Go back to the last intersection, but this time go down the east corridor.  This will lead you to another intersection where you should head south.  This will again lead you to a second intersection where you should head south again and then to the east.  This will put you in a third intersection, but if you look to the south you will see a set of doors to the Alabree Armory.  Inside the armory is Brogord’s Axe.

     These are all the items you need in the cave.  If you aren’t tired of killing shreth by this point, you can backtrack three intersections and head west instead of east.  This will take you down to the third level and a Hunter Shreth accompanied by three Blood Shreth.  There isn’t really anything of consequence down there, but it is a bit of a challenging battle if you are new to Dereth.  If not, you can backtrack out of the cave or lifestone recall back to Holtburg.  Flinrala will reward you with 10,000 XP for each of the items you retrieved.

The Dastardly Drudge (Recommended level – 10)

     After giving Flinrala the keepsakes of her father, she will ask you to help another of her associates, Alfrin.  Alfrin has been trying to make a go of a farm, but those pesky drudges just won’t give him an inch.  The most dastardly of the drudges has hatched a dastardly scheme to steal all of his seed!  The nerve of that dastardly dastard of a drudge!!!   Alfrin wants you to retrieve his seeds from The Drudge Hideout, and while you are at it you might as well bring him the head of that dastardly drudge.

     The Drudge Hideout is very close to Holtburg.  Take the south road out of town and very quickly you will see the Drudge Hideout off to the side of the road at 41.4N x 33.3E.  Inside the Drudge Hideout you will be fighting off:

Drudge Slinkers (lvl 5)

Drudge Robbers (lvl 7)

Drudge Servants (lvl 12)

Drudge Robber Barons (lvl 14)

Normally these types of drudges don’t pose all that much of a threat, but you will be fighting them in groups of three up to ten if you aren’t careful.  Make sure that you take plenty of stamina potions and a good healing kit with you.  As usual, keep an eye out for drudge charms to give to the trophy collector in Holtburg. 

     The first bag of seed is very close to the entry chamber.  Head through the north doors and turn east.  In this room you will find several drudges and the Bag of Rye Seed.  The second bag is very close as well.  Head back to the entry chamber and head into the west corridor.  The corridor turns north and opens into a series of rooms.  Go all the way to the east into the storage room and you will find the Bag of Wheat Seed.

     The last bag is a bit further off.  Going back to the west and then to the north you will find yourself in what appears to be a large brewery.  Head east out of this room and then turn to the south.  On your left (east) there will be a ramp going up and a room to the south.  The room to the south has several drudges inside.  If you enter the room, three more drudges will drop from the level above, making it a rather difficult fight if you aren’t prepared.  However, there is nothing you need in that room.  Instead, head up the ramp to the east.  At the top of the ramp there will be a series of three small connected rooms.  In the first room you will find the Bag of Corn Seed.  In the next room to the west you will encounter a Drudge Robber Baron.  This is the dastardly drudge that masterminded the robbery.  Kill him and retrieve the Robber Baron Head.

     Now that you have the seed bags, and a rather stinky severed head, you can either head out of the dungeon or recall back to Holtburg.  Alfrin will be very glad to get his seeds back and will reward you with 5,000 XP per bag.  However, he is even happier to get the head of the Drudge Robber Baron and will give you 10,000 XP upon receipt.  This is the end of the Explorer Society Quests in Holtburg.  For more adventure, you can purchase rumors of dungeons and quests from the tavern bartender, or head to Shoushi or Yaraq for another set of Explorer Society Quests.