Portal Space and the Invoker

Difficulty:  80+ to survive
Level Restriction:  50+ to wield Buadren, 70+ for Portal Space
Timer:  30 Days 
Can be Solo'd?  No
Rewards:  Buadren spellcasting drum, upgradeable to the Invoker, 6 million XP

A small group of Aun Tumeroks have made their way to the northern reaches of Osteth to explore our island and search for a long-lost hero of the Auns, Aun Tanua.  They are more than willing to teach you the magic behind their spellcasting drums, the Buardren.  If you are strong enough to craft a Buardren, perhaps you are strong enough to search for Aun Tanua too...?

Quest 1:  The Buadren.

Step 1:  The Components.  To create your own Buadren, you will need to hunt for its components.  The Aun believe the Ebon Mattekar, Fire Shreth, and Mighty Oak Golem are willing to donate their power to your drum.  That means you will have to stalk these creatures in various corners of Osteth.  Ebon Mattekars roam the more dangerous regions of the Linvak Mountains, especially around Kara.  If you get lucky, you will find an Ebon Mattekar hide on the corpse.  The second item you need is a Fire Shreth Hide.  Fire Shreths spawn in the plains between Neydissa and Bandit Castles and are probably the most difficult creature to track.  The final item is a Mighty Oak Golem Log.  Mighty Oak Golems spawn in the wooded areas of north Osteth, especially around Archmage Celdiseth's home.  There are also several in the Fazenda Horror's cave.  The spawn is fast and there are a good number of them, so it's an ideal place to hunt.  Once you have all 3 pieces, you will need to buy a Whittling Knife for the log and Noodle Cutter for the Fire Hide.  General Goods merchants like Shopkeepers sell Whittling Knives, as do some Fletching vendors.  Grocers sell Noodle Cutters.  Be aware that using the tools on the appropriate trophy will attune that trophy to you!  The final product isn't attuned, however.

Step 2:  Rewards.  Once you have Hollowed Log, the Leather Straps, and the Ebon Hide, head to the Aun encampment, located at 82.6N, 21.1E.  The fastest way is via the Dagger Vale portal in Arwic.  When you arrive, find Aun Tikakhe and speak to him.  When he is done talking, hand him your Ebon hide.  He will examine it and give you a vial of tanning oil.  Use the oil on the hide to make your drum's head.  Combine the tanned hide with the hollow log and then add the straps to make the Buadren.  It won't quite work yet.  Simply hand it back to Aun Tikakhe and he will imbue it with magic.  The useable Buadren casts "Heart of Oak", a spell that adds 20 points to your willpower.  The spell is fully stackable with every other willpower bonus, including major and minor cantrips.

Quest 2:  Portal Space

Step 1:  Preparation.  Once you have crafted your own Buadren, you will be able to enter Portal Space and try to save Aun Tanua.  The quest used to be next to impossible, but times have changed.  Characters with level VII protects, good melee D, and slash rending weapons make the enemies inside Portal Space less than intimidating.  There are two basic ways to complete this quest - the intended way and the... cheap way.  I will detail both paths, but there are things to do before you get started.  While you are at the Aun encampment, speak with Aun Aulakhe who resides by the camp's fire.  He will tell you about Aun Tanua's plight and flag you to enter the dungeon.  Before you go, look for the Akiekie Ember on the ground and pick one up.  Everyone will need one.  Once everyone is flagged and has the ember, your group may enter the dungeon.

Step 2:  The Intended Way.  If you want to do the quest as it was designed, you need at least 4 people, preferably 140+.  Break your group up into 4 teams and make sure to designate leaders for each team.  Communication will be essential!  Make sure everyone knows that only the leader of each group should touch levers and doors.  The drop into the dungeon is safe, so you can buff inside after everyone has downloaded. 

Step 2a:  Portal Space, Section 1.  When everyone is ready, send your four teams to the four corners of the entry room, which are color-coded Yellow, Green, Blue, and Orange.  Each door has a lever next to it - hitting the lever opens another group's door.  Have your four groups hit their levers and then press into the dungeon.  I recommend fighting through the dungeon instead of running - the monsters drop quickly and the alternative is lost people and excessive damage.  All four routes through this section are identical, fortunately.  As you enter, hug the right wall until you reach your first ramp down.  After the ramp, you will hug the left wall the rest of the way.  Do not stray!  There are invisible portals in this section (and the second section too), so keep together and don't leave the designated path.  The final room in this section is a large room with a lever and a door at the far end.  Clear the monsters and then hit your lever.  Make sure all four teams' doors are open before anyone goes through.

Step 2b:  Portal Space, Section 2.  The second section is easier to navigate and is quite a bit safer.  From the drop, you will go forward and then take the path off to the right.  Fight your way down the spiral staircase until you reach a large room, again with a lever and a door at the far end.  Clear the monsters and then have each group hit their levers.  Head through but go carefully - the invisible portal in this section is nearby, as you can see from the map.  If you or anyone in your group do happen to blunder into the invisible portal, don't fear!  Just look around where you land for the correctly colored portal and enter it.  Once you pass the windy section, you will find yourself in a large room filled with Lightning.  Be very careful - most of this room will damage you just like an acid pit.  If you are vulned, you could take hits of 80+ every couple seconds.  The easiest way to make it through this dungeon is to have your team wait by the entrance into this room while the leader hugs the right wall, finds the door on the wall, and opens it.  Once the door is open, have everyone run into the small alcove, which is free of lightning.  Now have your leader run straight ahead and hit the lever by the door and then run back to your group.  When your door opens, have your team run through.  Follow the corridor to the final room, which has a good deal of monsters in it.  Clear them and look for the lever and door on the far side of the enclosure.  Hit the lever and make sure every other team's door is open before you proceed.

Step 3:  The Cheap Way.  The lever doors in this dungeon stay open for a good amount of time, so it is possible to make it through the dungeon without using four teams.  However, there is one point where you will have to sacrifice one team member to cheat through a lever door.  You will also have to do a good amount of running.  The only benefit to the 'Cheap' way is that you can do the quest with as few as 2 people.

Step 3a:  Portal Space, Section 1.  Begin by hitting the lever in front of the Yellow door and then run to the Green door, which should now open.  Fight through the Green section to the very end (hug the right wall until you reach the first ramp, then follow the left wall) and hit the lever.  Once you hit the lever, run back up the way you came, hugging the left wall (except for one left turn that leads downward) and head into the invisible portal (check the map to be sure where it is).  You will find yourself in Lilitha's Room.  There is a portal on your radar just as you enter - make your way to it (it's blue).  Hop in and you will be in the Blue Section.  Make your way south from where you arrive and you will reach the final room, where you will find the door open.  Run in and hit the portal.

Step 3b:  Portal Space, Section 2.  You will now be in the Blue Section of the second region of Portal Space.  Again, fight your way down to the large room.  This is where you have to bid farewell to one of your friends.  I dual-logged a secondary character through the dungeon and ditched him here so no one lost out.  Alternatively, you can just run through the quest a second time for your friend.  You will need to use the PKL-door trick.  To do it, have the friend you will be leaving stand right in front of the door and have everyone stand on top of him.  Then have that person go PKL (type /pklite) and wait.  Once that person is pink, have everyone else go PKL.  Since two PKLs can't occupy the same spot, the second person will pop through the door!  You can't open it from the far side, unfortunately.  Now that everyone (save one) is on the far side, you can press on.  Have everyone but you hug the right wall into the invisible portal into the Empyrean Section and have them look for the Yellow Portal, which is on the north wall.  Have them wait for you.  You should head to the lever door in the Lightning room and hit it.  Then return to the invisible portal.  Go into the Orange portal in the Empyrean Section, which is southeast of the entrance.  Enter that portal and you will find yourself in the lightning room again.  Hit the lever by the door (which should be open) and then run through it.  Hit the lever in the final room and then return the way you came, back into the invisible portal.  Note that the invisible portal isn't in the same place - it's in the other U-shaped section of the corridor.  Now rejoin your group in the Yellow dungeon and fight your way through the two open doors and into the final section.

Step 4:  Portal Space, Section 3.  The last part of the quest is pretty much monster-free.  From the drop, head southeast into a large room with several portal steps in it.  Climb the portal staircase to a small cove where Aun Tanua is being held.  Half-power shift jumps should be sufficient to climb.  Line up and one at a time, give Aun Tanua your Ember.  He will return a burning ember to you.  When everyone has their ember, it's time to leave.  Take one of the four exits from the main room and make your way down.  There are a couple monsters guarding the exit portal, but your combined team should have no trouble with them.  At the very bottom is a surface portal.  Take it to return to the Aun camp.

Step 5:  Rewards.  Line up and give Aun Aulakhe your Ember.  He will reward you with 6 million XP.  Once he as given you your XP, give him your Buadren.  He will upgrade it to the Invoker!