Mage Academy

Difficulty:  15+ to survive, 20+ to solo
Level Restriction:  8+
Timer:  1 Week
Can be Solo'd?  Yes, with Lockpick
Rewards:  Lore and a pull from a decent chest (or it used to be, anyway...) 

The Undead leadership of the Dericost have long sought to subvert their enemies using all sorts of nefarious schemes.  Lord Rytheran, Lady Aerfalle's lover, is the master of the Mage Academy, a school renowned to both the Dericost and the Yalain.  Although the Yalaini are long gone, the Academy's dark headmaster is still there, waiting...

Step 1:  Preparation.  This quest isn't particularly difficult and there isn't much you really need to prepare yourself.  However, you will need a lockpicker if you want to do the quest as it was intended (I suppose it is technically possible to make it through without LP, but where's the fun in that?)  When you are ready, head to Al Jalima to begin your quest.

Step 2:  Burial Temple.  Your first task is to recover a Black Gem and a Cursed Key from the Burial Temple just outside Al Jalima.  The Temple is filled with very low level skeletons, so unless you are below level 30 or so, buffing is overkill.  Head to 8.5N 6E to find the dungeon.  When you materialize, you will find yourself in the middle of a large room with exits on each of the four walls.  Take the east passage, jump down, and follow the corridor to its end.  The 'end' is in fact a false wall, so head through it and you will go down a ramp.  Take the first right you come to once you've passed the ramp.  You will notice a turn off to the right leading down a ramp - remember it as you will be coming back this way.  Continue on through a series of corridors and smaller rooms until you exit into a large ring-shaped room.  Scan the western section of the ring and you will find a lever.  Hit it and head back the way you came and find the passageway and ramp you noticed earlier.  Head down and through a closed door.  You will find an opened door on your left - go in and dispatch the Skeleton Lord inside.  Loot his corpse and be sure to grab the Cursed Key and Black Gem.  You only need one per group, so there's no need to wait for him to respawn.  When you have the key and gem, head back out and find the exit portal just west of the Skeleton Lord's room.

Step 3:  Black Gem.  Head back to town and find Tazal al-Ashfai at 6.1N 3.5E.  Hand him your gem and he will summon a portal to the Mage Academy.  Hop in!

Step 4:  Mage Academy.  The Mage Academy is an extensive dungeon, filled with all sorts of eye candy.  Fortunately, the monsters in here are only marginally tougher than those in the Burial Temple, so buffing is again rather unnecessary unless you are below 40 or so.  There are several keys to collect and levers to pull too.  If you miss one step in this process, you may need to start over from the beginning, so it might be in your best interest to scout out your route first (or if you are in a group, station people at the lever doors to bug them for you).  Once you appear in the dungeon, notice the lever in the entry room.  Head downwards and take the first two lefts and then a right.  You will find yourself in a large room divided into several small chambers.  Make your way to the southwest and you will find three levers.  Hit the northernmost lever and then head back to the drop (I'm not sure if you can Portal Recall - will have to check on that) where you first noticed a lever.  Hit it and quickly make your way down the ramp, taking a left and then a right.  The right turn will take you right in front of a pressure-plated door (the plate is right in front of the door).  Move quickly to the north and take the first turn to the left you see (this is a lever door controlled by the first lever you hit), continuing north as fast as you can.  Hopefully, the door leading into a small room will still be open (it was controlled by the second lever in the drop room).  Kill the Banderlings here and loot the Old Key from the Captain's corpse.  Head back to the top again.  Make your way down the staircase taking 3 lefts and then a right.  Right after you turn right, you'll find a locked door.  Pick it and you will see a lever just beyond it.  Again, head back to the top.  Take your first right, a second right, and then a left.  Here you will find a locked door.  Use the Old Key from the Banderling Captain to open it, go through the opened lever door, and hit the lever just beyond it.  One more, head to the drop and race down the stairwell taking all lefts until you reach a T intersection.  Go either way, open the door in front of you, race through the larger room and make it through the last lever door on the east wall.  There is a pressure plate just past the door, so don't be surprised if the door snaps shut just after you pass it.  You are now in the Shadow section of the Academy.  This particular section is quite interesting and worth exploring.  There's even an Altar of Bael'Zharon in the northeastern room.  If you want to cut right to the chase, head eastwards from the lever door, go straight through the first four-way intersection you come to, and then take a left at the second four-way.  You will see a locked door here - use the Cursed Key to open it.  Enter the small room and head upwards on the ramp.  Follow the bridge and take the second right you come to.  Follow the corridor for some time, crossing over several bridges and up several ramps.  Ultimately, you will reach a bridge leading nowhere.  However, there is a passage on the southern wall from the bridge.  You will need to jump into this passage - use a minimal power tap jump.  Hopefully you didn't miss this jump - if you did, you will need to do the whole lever and key series again (or read the cheater route below)!  Follow the passage, hop down (carefully avoiding the exit portal), and you will find yourself in Rytheran's Study.  Kill Lord Rytheran and check his corpse for a key.  He's on a slow spawn and if everyone in your group wants a pull from his chest, you will need to wait on him.  When you have your keys, take the exit portal and then come back in to the dungeon.

If you really want to skip the fun part, you can take your first right from the drop and then head south.  Take the second right and you will find yourself in a large, twisty room.  There is a bridge above you in the northeast section of the room.  Jump up there - you may need to hop on top of a critter's head to make the jump.  Once you are up, head south and you will find yourself at the jump into Rytheran's study.

Step 5:  Rewards.  Head back into the dungeon and go down the stairs, taking two lefts and then a right.  This is the path to the first lever you hit - again head southwards until you find a spawn of Kilif Zefirs.  Kill them and check their corpses for a Stone Key.  Once you have it, head north as far as you can go and you will find a locked door.  The key you just picked up unlocks the door.  On the far side is Lady Jaera's Tomb, which is locked with Rytheran's Key.  Take turns looting.  There are a pair of golems on an incredibly fast spawn in the tomb room too, so mind yourself.  The tomb itself used to have some of the highest quality loot around, but times have changed... The main reward is the fun of exploring a complicated and scenic dungeon!