Oswald and the Viamontians

Difficulty:  Minimum to survive, 90+ to solo with melee defense, 110+ without melee defense
Level Restriction:  90+
Timer:  One Time per Character
Can be Solo'd?  Yes
Rewards:  One Skill Credit

Oswald tried to assassinate King Varicci II back in Ispar and failed.  Somehow he managed to find his way to the Halaetan Islands before anyone else, where the Loyalist Viamontians were less than pleased to see him.  Track him down and the Rebels in Silyun will reward you handsomely.

Step 1:  Preparation.  Begin your quest in Sanamar.  Find Luressi di Maki, who is willing to sell you portal gems to Silyun for a mere I note each.  Buy 5 or so and then use one.  Find the Huntsman of Silyun in his house in the outskirts of town (86.9N 70W).  He will ask you to find a Jaw of a high level Eater - an Abhorrent, Ravenous, or Insatiable Eater, specifically.  These jaws only spawn in particular quest dungeons and the Abhorrent Vault is one with the lowest level restriction.  Additionally, the other Jaw vaults are worth substantially more XP, so don't waste it!  Buff up before you start out.  You can probably do this dungeon and the next one in a single buff, so buff a slashing weapon for the Eaters and a lightning weapon for the second dungeon.  Also add physical and acid banes and all protects.  You may want to bane against cold for the run as well, depending on how fast you are and how good your melee defense is.  When you are buffed, head to the Plains of Ruin portal just to the NE of town (at 87.7N, 69.7W).

Step 2:  Abhorrent Vault.  From the Plains of Ruin drop, run south to the Abhorrent Vault at 88.5N, 50.4W.  The dungeon is actually quite easy to nagivate - just keep going down!  There are several pits to jump into and ramps leading to the final room.  Your job in this dungeon is to make it to the very end, where you will encounter special Abhorrent Eaters.  Like the Olthoi Pincers and Tusker Tusks, the Eaters at the end drop their Jaws as a reward.  The jaws are easier to find, as you will get a message when you kill the right one telling you you have knocked its jaw loose.  Only the Eaters around the exit portal drop their jaws, so look carefully.  When you have the Jaw, find an open spot and use a Silyun portal gem.  Return the Jaw to the Huntsman to proceed.

Step 3:  Lugian Ice Tunnels.   The Huntsman will tell you that Oswald was last reported in the Lugian Ice Tunnels, a dungeon in the Plains of Ruin at 93.3N, 50.1W.  Head back out the Plains of Ruin Portal and run to the dungeon.  This dungeon is filled with Gotrok Lugians up to Titans, so you may fight some Hollow weapons.  The dungeon is fairly linear, so you probably won't get lost.  Just remember to keep heading south and up.  The only possible mistake you could really make is if you turn north in one of the last rooms and find the exit portal.  If you do that, go out the way you came and keep heading south.  At the end of the dungeon, you will find a Corpse in a small alcove.  Loot a Note to Alvirre, which you should return to the Huntsman.

Step 4:  Ruschk Icehold.  Yet again, you will be heading out into the Plains of Ruin to follow Oswald.  Chances are good that your buffs are almost gone by now, so rebuff.  Fire will work well in the next two dungeons.  Bane against physical and frost damage and protect against everything.  Also, make sure you bane your shield!  Ruschks have a nasty habit of casting Brittlemail and Frost and Bludgeoning Lure on you.  If you don't bane, you will take a lot of damage.  When you are set, head south from the portal drop to 87.3N, 51.8W, where you will find the dungeon.  Run south from the drop and you will reach a large room with ramps leading up both sides.  Find the exit on the southeast wall and take it.  From here on, the dungeon is pretty much linear, but there are a lot of alcoves that look as if they are going to contain passageways, so take your time.  The final room you need to fight through has a large ramp leading down and then a small path leading down through the middle of the floor.  Before you go through that passage, check the south wall of the room for an alcove with a corpse.  Loot the note from it and use one of your portal gems to get back to the Huntsman.

Step 5:  Viamontian Royal Prison.  After you give the Huntsman your note, you will need to head to the final dungeon - the Viamontian Royal Prison, located at 91.8N, 41.8W.  You can run to this dungeon from the Plains of Ruin portal if you like, but the fastest way is probably to head to Sanamar and take the Eastwatch portal south of town.  This dungeon is the most fun of the quest (if you ask me, anyway) and is filled with Viamontian Knights and Mages.  Your fire weapon works well, as does a lightning weapon.  There are several false walls in this dungeon, which you can identify due to their discoloration.  From the drop, follow the main corridor until you reach a room with an acid pit in the middle.  Take the left (north) exit from the room and then take a quick right so that you are heading east.  Continue east, ignoring the turns off to the right, until you reach a large room.  Kill the monsters and then find a path leading north right by the catwalk overhead.  Head up it and make your way to a small room with a lever.  Hit the lever and go back down the way you came and head out the east end of the large room, where the lever door will now be open.  You will quickly come to a T intersection - turn left and head north.  This path will lead you to another large room with no apparent exit.  In fact, there are two false walls to the north - one on the west face of the north wall and one on the north end of the east wall.  Take the Northeast path and you will come to a series of small rooms overlooking a gallery room.  Kill your way through all of the small rooms until you find the Royal Prison Warden.  Kill him and loot his Key and Orders.  Now use the key to open the chest in his room, which contains Oswald's Journal and a book called 'Seven Habits of Effective Adventuerers' - make sure you get the second book!  If you want all the lore from the quest, head back to the middle of the small rooms, where you no doubt noticed there was a lever.  Hit it and then head north and jump down into the gallery.  Jump across the acid pit and you will see that the door to Oswald's cell is now open.  You can find a text called 'Note to a Generous Host'.  Use another Silyun gem and head back to the Huntsman.

Step 6:  Rewards.  Give the Huntsman the two books you found in the Warden's chest and you will receive your skill credit!